(DISCONTINUED) Pokémon: Marcel Parker's Sinnoh Adventure
by Criminal Scrub
Summary: After an extra five long years of waiting, Marcel Parker is thrown into the training world of Pokémon, only to find it's not what he expected it to be like at all. Pokémon that disobey commands, evolution under certain conditions, and a possible threat looming over Sinnoh the entire time. Is the harsh reality enough to overwhelm him? Or will he find a way to push past it?
1. Fifth Times the Charm

_**NOTE: THIS STORY IS BEING DISCONTINUED... WELL RATHER IT'S BEING REBOOTED.**_

 _As I explain in a notice at the end of what this story is, I will be rebooting and rewriting this story from scratch. It originally started out as a practice for my writing abilities, and now that I have gotten better, feel as though I should use my improved abilities to serve the story I wanted to tell proper justice. I will keep this story up for a little bit longer, mainly as a reference for myself, but also in case anybody wants to read the original version of the story. Hopefully you stick around to read the remastered version!_

...

Just like most little kids when they were young, I aspired to become a Pokemon trainer. It's usually pretty easy to become a trainer. Turn ten, ask for a Pokemon, and leave home with a Pokemon companion at your side. Simple right? Well, unfortunately for me, I could not be blessed with such simplicity. Instead, I was gifted the horrible luck of living in Unova at the wrong time.

My name is Marcel Parker, I am currently fifteen years old, and now only received my first Pokemon. Why after five years I was only now able to get my first Pokemon? Well, allow me to explain.

It all started when I was around nine- almost ten years old. My birthday was fast approaching, and I knew I wanted to become a Pokemon trainer. A problem, however, was the fact I still didn't know what Pokemon I even wanted. Any and all Pokemon I wanted as a starter, my parents would shoot down. Rhyhorn? Too dangerous. Venipede? Too poisonous. Gible? Too willing to gnaw my arm off. My list continuously got shorter and shorter. My birthday was soon nearly a week away, but that's when the chain of events that started my five year long delay began.

Something that most non-native Unovans don't know is that Team Plasma didn't start out the way they turned out. At first, they were just protesters, talking about Pokemon liberation. People thought what they were saying was a bunch of nonsense, so they paid no mind to them. I guess in order to get their message across, they resorted to forcefully stealing Pokemon. That's when they caught the media's attention. It also caught the attention of my parents. They weren't too worried about letting me become a trainer, but I was. What if my Pokemon were stolen by these guys? I told this to my parents, and we all agreed I would become a Pokemon trainer when I turned eleven instead. Well, I'll admit, my Pokemon being stolen wasn't actually the reason I didn't want to start training yet; it was because I still didn't have a starter Pokemon in mind. Had I known how long this would delay me, I probably would have settled for a lab starter Pokemon, and gotten out of the house to begin my training.

Things only got worse after that. Soon, some people started to consider Team Plasma as a terrorist group, some even saying they were on the level of Team Magma and Aqua (that was a big over statement if you ask me, I mean they dressed up like freaking medieval jesters or whatever! That doesn't exactly scream "We're terrorists!"... Maybe that's what they were going for actually...)

The point is, by this time, my eleventh birthday had rolled around, and my parents had deemed training unsafe for me. While I was pretty annoyed with this, I also had to respect their decision on my safety. The Plasma uprising was put down later that year by the gym leaders and a few trainers, and by this point, I was ready to be thrown into the training world. Unfortunately, my parents didn't think so, and I was retained, YET ANOTHER YEAR.

The same thing happened again the next year. I was retained, but this time it was mostly a decision by my mom. My dad was willing to let me go, but my mom would have none of it, and that bothered me greatly.

Finally, the next year, I'm now fifteen years old, and both parents finally agree to let me become a Pokemon trainer. And then Team Plasma rises again. I started to get the feeling this was the universe's way of saying, "Fuck you Marcel." I had almost completely given up on becoming a trainer, but I was finally given a glimmer of hope when my mom told me we were moving to Sinnoh.

I was actually pretty excited to be moving away from Unova. The only place I would really miss would be Castelia City, but I didn't get to go there much anyways, since I lived all the way in Virbank. Seeing a new land would actually be pretty interesting.

We left Unova two months after that, and moved to Sinnoh, into a city called Jubilife. The apartment we bought was spacious, and the city was actually pretty nice. It was basically a smaller, and less polluted Virbank City. We had been living in the city for nearly a month now, and still no signs of me becoming a trainer. For some reason, I had thought that since the Galactic issue in Sinnoh was put down nearly six years ago, there would be no threat to me becoming a trainer here, but no, I'm still not a trainer. I think I had pretty much given up becoming a trainer at this point, but I was so glad a tiny portion of me still wanted to become one.

One day, my Dad walked into my room, without any greeting whatsoever, and sat down on my bed next to me.

"Is there something you need?" I questioned. He just looked at me, smiled, then set down a shiny black, wooden case on my bed. On the top, there was the symbol of a Pokeball, engraved on the top. "Open it," he said calmly. I was a little confused, yet a little excited to open the case. The Pokeball engraving probably should have given it away, but I was still anxious to see what was inside.

I quickly opened the case, and I found what I probably knew what was going to be there anyway. A Pokeball. The following few minutes involved a lot of thanking, admiring of the Pokeball, and uncontrollable grinning. I finally decided it was probably a good idea to go outside and see what Pokemon it was.

I walked to the park two blocks from our house to see my new Pokemon. My dad didn't specify what Pokemon it was, he just wanted me to find out on my own. I threw the Pokeball into the air, and after the blinding flash of white had faded, I was met with a purple, scorpion-bat thing with its tongue hanging out, looking at me. To me, it looked like somebody shoved a Krabby and Golbat into a blender, then made a Pokemon with the mixture. There was also the scorpion tail, but I didn't know of any other Pokemon that had those, so maybe it was made from left over blended Krabby-Golbat.

I'm not the smartest person, so I don't make the smartest decisions. I stuck my finger out at it, and attempted to greet it. "Uh, hi. I'm your new trainer I gue-" I was cut off by the bloodcurdling screams that followed, after it latched one of its pincer claws onto the finger I stuck out.

"Ah! Son of a bitch!" I screamed as I tried prying it off my finger. I shook it around violently before it finally let go. It elegantly glided to the ground a few feet back. "Gli gli-gar!" I think it was laughing at me. I grabbed my finger with my other hand, hoping it wasn't broken. I could still bend it slightly, so that was a good sign... I think.

"What the hell was that for!?" I yelled, my finger still very much in pain. "Gli-gar!" It responded. It also responded by quickly flying into my face, leaving me barley able to breathe. "Mmph, Mm- get... Off!" I tried screaming, but it was very muffled. It was grabbing my hair, and I feared it would pull it right off my head. After much struggle, I managed to finally break its grasp from my head, and I flung it right into a tree where it hit its head, knocking it unconscious. I didn't mean to knock it out, but at least it meant no more painful torture from my new Pokemon. I quickly snatched the Pokeball from the ground, and held the ball out in front of me to return the Gligar. With a flash of red, it receded back into its containment. I stared down at the Pokeball in my hands for a few moments. This Pokemon was mine. This was my own actual Pokemon. This was the Pokemon I would use to start my trainer career, and become strong and powerful. But it didn't like me very much. Slightly disheartening, but it would soon come to like me... Hopefully...


	2. Center of Attention

I stuffed the Pokeball back into my pocket, and walked around to try and find the building I was hoping to find. I saw it a few blocks down. Orange roof with a large Pokeball sign outside of it. That had to be a Pokemon Center right? I started towards the building. While I was walking there I saw a bunch of trainers with all sorts of cool Pokemon. There was some kid with a Serperior, a girl with some sort of Monkey with a flaming head, and some guy with three Machamp. I finally walked up to the doors of the Pokemon Center, and they opened automatically, and it even had a little jingle when they opened. The main room felt like it's been blasting the air conditioner for the past few years. A sweater would have been nice.

Directly a few feet in front of me was a counter with some sort of machine behind it. I assume those were those Pokemon healers, or whatever they were called. I walked up to the counter, and rang the bell which was placed on top of it. Suddenly, a woman with light brown hair came up from under the desk.

"Huh? O-oh!" She seemed a bit surprised seeing me standing there. "Hello! Welcome to the Pokemon Center! Did you need any assistance of any kind?" She asked in a very rushed tone.

I stared at her for a few seconds before I actually spoke up. "Uh, can I get my Pokemon healed? He was knocked unconscious by uh... Me..." I said very unsure of what to do.

"Oh! Of course! Just hand me your Pokeball please!" The woman quickly said. It's like she was trying to win the fastest talker award or something. I handed her the Pokeball, and she placed it on the machine behind her. After that however, she just appeared to stare at the machine.

"Um..." She kept hesitating to press any of the buttons on the machine. "Is there something wrong?" I asked her. She quickly spun around and faced me.

"No no! Nothing is wrong! It's just... I kind of don't know how to work this machine..." She replied sheepishly. I just stared at her. "...You don't know how to work the machine? Yet you work here?" I questioned, getting kind of annoyed.

"Well, I'm an intern and this is only my second day, and Nurse Joy isn't here right now, and, and..." She was very flustered and stressed.

"Woah, calm down for a second. You said the nurse isn't here?"

"No, she went to the Department Store in Veilstone City to pick up some supplies for a type of antidote... I'm not sure when she'll be back and I'm really not prepared to be running the center all by myself, and there are so many trainers, and, oh dear..."

I felt kinda bad now that I knew what was actually going on. Although it didn't help that I have a currently unconscious Pokemon in my possession, and nothing to wake it up with. "When did the nurse leave?" I questioned.

"Um..." the woman looked at the digital clock above the entrance. "About an hour and a half ago!" She replied. "Thanks." I said while taking the Pokeball back from the woman. It was only two o' clock. I suppose I could wait a little. There seemed to be a lot of things going on in the Pokemon Center, so I checked them out.

There was a man giving his Pokemon, other Pokemon, and even other trainers, yoga lessons. It was pretty amusing to watch a Gurdurr attempt the tree pose. There was a woman who claimed to be with "Goldenrod Publishing" and was taking photos of all the Pokemon in the center who were native to Sinnoh. And finally there was a battle out in the courtyard between the flaming ape from earlier and a Weezing. The Weezing won the battle because of the trainers over use of Toxic.

I looked back at the clock and it read '5:47'. I figured I would just head back home, but as if whatever great being is up there heard me, Nurse Joy walked through the automatic glass doors. I started over to her, but it looks like I wasn't the only one waiting. In ten seconds tops, a mob of trainers had formed around her, demanding their Pokemon be healed.

"Everyone, everyone! Please, form a line to the desk! I'll get to everyone of you!" She shouted. Everyone, including myself, rushed to form a line, and luckily I was fifth in line out of probably twenty.

The line seemed to go by rather quickly. Apparently it only takes a few seconds to heal a Pokemon. When Nurse Joy got to me and I handed her my Pokeball, she looked at me for a few seconds. "Only one Pokemon? You look like you've been training for a few years," she said as she placed the Pokeball on the machine. "Oh, um. I've only been training for..." I quickly glanced at the clock. "About five hours now..." I felt kind of embarrassed saying that. Usually a fifteen year old would have had an experienced team by now. "Oh? You're at a strange age to start training. But congratulations nonetheless!" She said cheerfully as she handed the Pokeball back. I hoped people mistaking me for a more experienced trainer wouldn't be common. I figured I should start walking back to my house, it was going to be late soon.


	3. Blue Decisions

The streets were pretty empty as I was walking back. Just the occasional person coming home from work. There seemed to rarely be any cars that passed by too. I saw maybe five of them. Everything just felt quiet, peaceful, and calm. It was rather nice. Maybe there would be more of this in the other areas of Sinnoh. I enjoyed the more quiet places, which was odd considering I grew up in the busy streets of Virbank. Or maybe I liked quiet places more because of that. I saw my apartment complex slowly appear over the other buildings.

After I had walked up two flights of stairs, the peace and quiet I had been enjoying was abruptly ended by the faint sound of yelling. I had listened for a little to see if I could make out the words. I walked up the third flight of stairs, and the words became clearer, and so did the voices. I climbed up the fourth, and final set of stairs that needed climbing. I could hear where the voices were coming from now, and the location was very clearly my apartment. I slowly peered around the door, trying to stay hidden.

"I think he's more than mature enough at this point!" My dads voice boomed. "I couldn't live with myself if I found out he got hurt training Pokemon! He's not ready!" My mom shouted, equally as loud.

It was weird hearing my mom yell so loudly. It never usually happened. It made me feel really bad, considering they were arguing about me.

I listened to my parents bicker for a little longer before making my presence known.

"...Hello?" I said, rather softly in the doorframe. They didn't seem to hear me so I tried again. "Hello? Mom? Dad?" They finally turned to me. That's when I noticed tears in my moms eyes. I immediately got a sinking feeling in my chest and stomach. She looked at me, then ran into her room with her face buried in her hands. My dad sat down on the couch with a long sigh, and I sat down next to him.

"...were you two arguing about me?" I asked, knowing the answer. I couldn't help but feel responsible.

"I know what you're thinking, and no, it's not your fault. I guess your mom just isn't ready to let you go out into the training world just yet," my dad turned to face me. "She just doesn't see Pokemon the way you and I do. When I left the house to begin training, I know my grandmother wasn't ready either, and I thought I would never leave the house. Finally I convinced her, but only under some conditions. She made me write to her every week, and I had to visit her at least every three months. Heh. I remember when she met my Pokemon for the first time. She thought my Dragonair was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen..."

Dad loved talking about his training career with me. He grew up in Johto and specialized in Dragon Pokemon. They were always his favorite. I had to give him props. One dragon was hard enough to raise, but my dad owned five. His dragons were still in Johto being watched by my dads cousin in Blackthorn City.

My dad seemed lost in thought before he snapped back to reality. "Anyway... Your mom just isn't very fond of Pokemon, no matter how much I try to change her opinion..." We sat in silence for after that. I wasn't very hungry that night either, so I skipped out on dinner. I spent the rest of the night watching Pokemon battles on TV, but I didn't feel as much excitement from them as I usually do when I watch them.

That night I didn't get much sleep either. I kept thinking about how my mom would feel if I left on a training adventure. But it was my dream, and I could finally achieve it. I was going to become a trainer no matter what. That's when I remembered the Pokeball. I looked down at it, and the white button in the center seemed to stare back at me. I wondered if my Pokemon could actually see me. I was contemplating whether or not I wanted to risk sending out my Pokemon now. I decided it probably wasn't the best thing to do right now. I tried forcing myself to sleep but couldn't do it. I tried listening to soothing music, counting Mareep, and managed to recite the Unova national anthem five times, but it didn't work. I only managed to get sleep as the sun was five minutes away from starting to rise, and it was still somewhat dark out. I was then woken up an hour and a half later.

I felt too tired to even function. Now that I actually felt tired, I couldn't sleep. I slowly slugged out of my room and poured myself some cereal. As I walked back to the dining room I noticed a backpack on the table. It looked like it was over stuffed and that it could explode at any second. My dad seemingly appeared out of nowhere behind me and rested his hand on my shoulder. "What do you think?" He questioned. I was too tired to process most of it, so I answered his question with a rather dumber question, "What is it?"

"It's your green card to become a trainer," my dad replied. "Everything in that bag is enough to get you started on your own trainer career. It has some food, clean clothes, soap, and even a few Pokeballs I still had. There are other things too that I packed that you might like." My dad seemed very proud of this bag. I was still trying to process everything in my mind. Was I leaving for my training career now? I was more than ready but...

"What about mom? Does she know about..." I started to trail off. My dad just sighed, looked up at the ceiling, then back at me. "Leave your mom to me. She'll warm up to the idea of you training soon enough, she just won't know it if you don't get out of the house."

I've never heard my dad so sure of anything before. It made me feel horrible. My dad hates upsetting my mom, and I know my mom will flip the entire apartment complex upside down because of how upset she'll be. I'll also feel horrible because I'm just leaving without giving her any warning. I've been waiting for this moment my entire life, and now I'm having second thoughts. My dad just gave me that "Everything will be alright" smile in response to my internal struggle. I knew I had to make a decision soon.

...

The bus going from Jubilife City to Sandgem Town arrived ten minutes later than scheduled on the ticket my dad gave me. I nearly fell asleep waiting for the bus. My sleep deprivation was pretty obvious. It was about a forty five minute bus ride, so I decided to use the time to take a nap. I had a weird dream where giant tempura shrimp were chasing me through a corn maze. I was abruptly woken up by the sounds of the doors opening again. Quickly I searched around looked for signs.

"Sandgem Town" I saw a sign say. I quickly scrambled my things together then rushed out of the bus, and managed to trip as I was stepping down. True elegance on my part. Now I just needed to find "The Pokemon Lab of Sinnoh: Where trainers get their start!"

It said exactly that on the sign across the street. Finding the Lab was pretty easy. Now I just had to go inside, apply for an official trainers license, then I should be good to go, right?

Simple tasks aren't always easy I guess.


	4. Dawn

The Pokemon lab was a rather small, rectangular looking building. I had never seen other Pokemon labs in person, but from pictures I've seen, they were much bigger than this. Especially the Sycamore Lab in Lumiose City. Maybe it was bigger on the inside?

I started towards the metallic door, but I hesitated before I grabbed the door knob. I was still wondering if I really wanted to go through with this. That thought kept looming in my mind. I waved off the thought. I was going to do this. I grabbed the door knob, and twisted it. My hand just slipped through. I tried again, slipped through again. Locked. The door was locked. I stood there for a moment, before deciding to actually knock on the door. After teen seconds with no response, I knocked again. Twenty seconds, thirty seconds, seventy seconds. No response at all.

I walked around the building in an attempt to find a window. I peered over a window I was just barely tall enough to reach. No lights were on. Nobody was home. It was understandable I guess. It was still pretty early. I looked around the rest of the area. It seemed like a small, quiet town. There was a Pokemon Center just a block down. Maybe I could get some useful information?

This Pokemon Center was quite a bit smaller than the one in Jubilife. There were also far less people. There were probably about five people, including the Nurse Joy. She must have been really bored, because she jolted up immediately as I walked through the automatic glass doors.

"Hello!" she exclaimed. "Welcome! Is there anything I can help you with?"

I stood there for a second, trying to figure out what I should even ask. I didn't really know. Information on the professor would be nice. "Do you know where I can find the local professor? I'm a new trainer, and I heard I should head here," I asked, rather confused as to what to say. I'm not very good at planning what to say the second before I ask it.

"Did you check the lab? He's usually there studying Pokemon."

If I didn't check the lab I probably wouldn't be here. "That's kind of the problem. He's not there. I was hoping you would be able to help me..." That response probably came out a bit more rude than I intended. I could see the Nurse's expression change from kind, to a little less kind. Her smile just became slightly smaller. I wish I could redo that response now. I felt bad. "I don't know where else he'd be if he's not there," she replied. "Your best option is probably to just wait for him."

I sighed, and plopped down onto a couch. I suppose I'd wait here until the professor were to get back. The couch was hard and uncomfortable. I wasn't in the greatest of moods.

"Are you trying to find Professor Rowan?" I heard a female voice say. I looked up, and was met with a girl, probably eighteen or nineteen, with long, dark blue hair, and equally as dark blue eyes. "Do you know where I can find him?" I asked. "I do actually! I'm his lab assistant!" she exclaimed, a wide grin forming on her face. This helped my situation a lot.

"Oh, cool!" My mood started to lighten a bit. "Where is he?"

"I can take you to him now if you'd like. He's a twenty minute drive away,"

"Thanks, I just want to get my training journey started already. I'm Marcel by the way."

"Nice to meet you," she shook my hand. "My name is Dawn!"

Dawn started driving us to a place called Lake Verity. The professor was there to study some kind of Legendary Pokemon that supposedly lived there. As we were in the car, she started talking about her history with the professor.

"I've been his assistant for almost seven years now, and Legendary Pokemon have always been his fascination. Specifically the three who supposedly live in the Great Lakes of Sinnoh," Dawn was making some very interesting conversation. I've always liked talking about Pokemon that may or may not exist. "Those three Pokemon represent Emotion, Willpower, and Knowledge... Sorry, am I babbling too much?"

"I think it's pretty interesting how much you know about these Pokemon," I said, actually engrossed in what she was saying.

"If I told you that I was at Mount Coronet those six years ago during the Spear Pillar Crisis, would you believe me?"

"Probably not," I replied jokingly.

Dawn laughed. "Yeah, most people don't." I laughed too, then looked into her eyes. "...Wait, were you actually there?" I quickly asked in a serious tone. She looked back at me, then looked back at the road, then laughed. "Haha, no, of course not. I only wish I was there. Such a phenomenon for so many Legendary Pokemon to appear at one time, including the creators of space and time..." Dawn's smile slowly faded as she talked about the events. "We're almost there," she changed the subject. "I've been to Lake Verity quite a few times. Such a beautiful place, and the Pokemon you can find there are great! I remember catching my cute little Surskit there! ...Am I going on about useless stuff again? Anyway, I'll show you around the lake and help you find the professor!"

We both stepped out of the car, and the coolness of the air took me by surprise. It was rather warm weather, so now it just felt cold to me. "This is only the lakefront, so if you're feeling chilly, I'll warn you it's only gonna get colder," Dawn warned. I have a very low tolerance to the cold. I would much rather be in a tropical region than a snowy one. We started walking from the lakefront towards the lake, and it only got colder. I noticed goosebumps starting to form on my arms. I finally saw the lake come into view, and it was probably the biggest lake I'd ever seen. I don't think I could see the other side of it. If I could, it was only very faint. Great Lake was a very applicable title.

"The professor should be around here somewhere," Dawn chirped. She looked around before calling out, "Professor! Are you here?" No response was heard. "Let's walk around the lake, maybe we'll find him."

We walked around the general vicinity, as I was told trying to walk around the entire lake would take a good four hours or so on foot. I tried my best to stay as far away from the lake as possible because if I got any closer I would start to shiver.

Dawn kept calling the professors name, but we couldn't find him anywhere. After about twenty minutes of searching, Dawn started to get worried.

About five minutes later, we heard a car start to approach, and as it got closer, Dawn rolled up her eyes. The car came to a halt next to us, and Dawn approached it. The window rolled down to reveal an old looking man.

"Professor Rowan! You know you're not supposed to take a vehicle near the lake!" Dawn scolded. The man just stared back at her and calmly said, "I had to get to a farther part of the lake in a quicker manner. My old legs couldn't possibly go that far now,"

Dawn just rubbed her forehead and murmured something under her breath. She then looked back at me. "This is Marcel," she started. "He's been looking for you, so I took him here to try and find you. I think he needs a starter Pokemon,"

I quickly interrupted, "Actually no, I have a Pokemon! I just need to apply for a trainers license and a.-" I let out a quick sneeze, then continued. "And a P-Pokedex," I sniffled.

"Hop in the car son, let's head to my lab and we can get you set up right away." The old man said, rather sternly at that. I climbed into the car next to Dawn and we made our way back to the lab.

"FIRSTLY!" Professor Rowan's voice boomed. I was a bit taken aback at his voice. "These are your Pokeballs!" He held out five minimized Pokeballs in his hand, and gave them to me. "You use them to catch Pokemon, I trust you already knew that. Next!" He picked up an object that looked like a small, rectangular capsule from the table next to him. "This is your Pokedex! Use it to find the information of any Pokemon you may not be familiar with. It also stores your trainer information here, so in case you may not have your trainer ID, this will work as a substitute. Activate it by pressing this button here," he pushed a blue bottom on the otherwise completely red capsule. The upper part of the capsule raised up, and extended, revealing a glass screen, and a hologram display of text. "This newest design makes it easier for people to carry around in their pockets. Take a seat over there, and fill out the information while I finish this paper work."

I stuffed the Pokeballs in my bag, and trudged over to the seat. It was nice and comfortable. So nice I nearly fell asleep in it while filling out the tedious information the Pokedex was asking of me. It probably wasn't even that nice, but it just felt that way due to how sleep deprived I was.

The questions the Pokedex asked were questions I'd find when signing up for an online website. Name, date of birth, place of birth, current residence, and other such questions. However, after I filled out the questions, I was met with a screen that simply read _'STARTER INPUT'._

I stared blankly at the screen, and it stared back at me. I tapped on it a few times, but it was unresponsive. "Crap," I thought. "Did it break already?" I uselessly looked around the room to try and find the Professor, or Dawn.

Professor Rowan came back into the room. "Ah, you're done?" He questioned. I held up the pokedex for him to see. "What does this mean?" He looked at it, then held out his hand. "Give me your Pokemon's Pokeball."

I handed him the Pokeball which contained my bat scorpion thing. He grabbed it, then pressed the button in the center to minimize it. It shrunk with a tiny ping, and he flipped over the little Pokedex capsule to reveal a spherical groove in the back, perfect for a Pokeball. He inserted the ball into the groove, and more text popped up onto the screen. It read _'REGISTERING...'_ then information about my Pokemon popped up.

 _'0207- GLIGAR'_  
 _'FLYING SCORPION POKEMON'_  
 _'TYPE CLASSIFICATION- FLYING/GROUND'_  
 _'WEIGHT- 137.4 lbs'_  
 _'HEIGHT- 3'03"_ '

So that's what my Pokemon was. Quite literally a bat scorpion thing. The professor held out the Pokedex and Pokeball towards me. "Now that you're Pokemon is registered with your Pokedex, you can find out all the information about this specific Gligar." That was some pretty helpful information actually. I took back my Dex and browsed the information of my Gligar.

 _'KNOWN MOVES:_  
 _POISON STING_  
 _POISON JAB_  
 _SAND ATTACK'_

There was also an option to set a nickname for the Pokemon. I didn't know if I wanted a nickname right now, mainly because I was horrible at coming up with them. What would even fit Gligar? 'Abomination', that was an accurate one. Dawn stepped into the room, and pointed to the doorway next to her. "Step into this room please!" She smiled.

I walked into the rather small room. There was only a chair and a camera. The back wall was draped with a navy blue tarp, and faced the camera. "Sit on that chair, and I'll get things ready..." I plopped myself into the chair, kicking my feet back and forth as I waited for Dawn to snap the picture. She seemed to be having some trouble getting it ready, and she decided to make some conversation so we weren't waiting in awkward silence. "Are you ready to begin your training?" she asked as she pressed a few buttons. They made tiny, faint beeping sounds. "I've been ready for five years. I think I'm ready for about anything this world will throw at me at this point." I said with confidence. "You really think so? Trust me when I say you can never be prepared for anything. I guarantee that. Also, age won't give you an advantage over the younger trainers,"

I thought about that for a second. I probably was just being way too over-confident. What was the most extreme thing that could happen anyway? Honestly, anything was possible with Pokemon. "Well, do you have any advice for a new trainer?"

"I do. First, don't listen to people who say to catch as many Pokemon as you can when you start. It'll only make your training process much harder. Catch more team members gradually. Second, don't get in over your head. Don't go into battles you know you can't win, or don't know you can win. You're Pokemon may be strong, but you don't know what the other Pokemon is capable of. Finally, don't be afraid to ask for help. No shame in asking other people to get you out of situations. Also, having a traveling companion is useful. There's power in numbers."

"Do you give that information to everyone?"

"I have to give it to you later anyways, you just asked first before I could, which saved me some time." That made the information just a little less valuable to me. "Do you have any information that you don't tell a hundred other trainers? Like, from personal-"

"Say cheese."

"-cheese! Personal experience from your training? Surely there's something else you can tell me."

I wanted to have an edge in any way over other trainers. If I were going to become a trainer, I would be the trainer other trainers wanted to be. That was my fantasy at least.

"Personal advice? Let's see..." Dawn pondered for a minute, before finally saying something. "Pokemon tend to be a real bitch after being caught. Don't be afraid to use any means necessary to get it on your side, even if that means having to beat it in a battle with yourself,"

"You had to beat a Pokemon in battle?"

"Pokemon don't bode well with being caught, unless it deems the trainer worthy," Dawn added. "Especially if you catch a Croagunk." I had no idea what a Croagunk was, but I took the advice anyway. "Follow me this way, the professor is probably done with your trainer paperwork."

We walked out of the small room, and the printer next to the room was whirring. Professor Rowan was at a desk, filling out some information on a computer. "You seem to be just about ready to begin training," the Professor started. "We just need your trainer card to print and we should be all set." Almost as if on cue, the printer stopped making noises, and a small card popped out. "Ah! There it is now!" He stood up from his chair and handed me the card. I grabbed it from his hand. "Thanks," I said.

"I uploaded a record of your trainer data to the computer, so any information you fill out on your Pokedex will never be lost. Now. Are you ready to begin Pokemon training Marcel?" He asked in a serious voice. I simply nodded. "I didn't quite catch that. Allow me to repeat. Are you ready to become Pokemon training Marcel?" He repeated, this time slower, and more stern. I got a little nervous with the way he stared at me, but I just nodded again, this time adding a "Y-yes sir! Er, professor!" He looked down at me, and a small smirk appeared on his face for what was less than a second, then his normal serious face came back. "Hmph. That's more like it. You're going to meet many kinds of Pokemon along your journey. Pokemon will act as your companions, protectors, but they'll only treat you the way that you treat them. Be sure to care for them, and they will do the same."

That speech sounded very practiced, like he's said it a million times before. But those words sent a chill down my spine. I was now officially licensed to own Pokemon, train them, collect badges, compete in the Pokemon League... It was finally a reality. My dream was finally a reality.

I seemed to have tuned out the rest of his speech. I was too excited. I just wanted to get out there and begin training Pokemon. As soon as he was done talking, Dawn led me out of the building. "Well, I wish you the best of luck on your journey," Dawn said. "What kind of trainer do you want to be anyway?"

I thought about that for a moment. I forgot most people become trainers for different reasons. Some to compete in the league, become breeders, contest winners, doctors, researchers... I guess Dawn became a researcher. "Competing in the league is definitely what I want to do. I've always loved watching Pokemon battles on TV, and my goal is to at least challenge a champion one day. I wouldn't even care if I lost. Just the honor of battling one is enough to satisfy me for life." I gushed. I was too excited.

Dawn smiled at me, then looked down at the ground. "You remind me so much of an old friend I had..." Her voice broke off. She looked away for a few seconds and she wiped her cheeks. She looked back at me, her cheeks now starting to flush red. "A-are you okay?" I quickly asked. "Did I do something?"

She smiled at me again. "No, no! You didn't do anything! You just... Aha, never mind... It's not important..." She reached for my head and ruffled my hair. "Get out there and kick some ass." She said to me, looking straight into my eyes. I couldn't help but smile at that. "I will, don't you worry about that."

I was a little confused, but I brushed it off, and after a goodbye, I turned in the direction of Route 202, and sprinted down the road.

Then I tripped and fell on my face.

What a way to start my journey. Sleep deprived, hungry, and with scratches on my face. And then I sneezed. Also possibly sick.


	5. The Wrong Foot

I walked down Route 202 with a slight bit of confusion in my mind. I had wondered what was going on with Dawn. That thought loomed in the back of my mind for quite a while. I carried Gligar's Pokéball in it's minimized form in my left hand rather than in my bag, and kept rolling it in between my fingers. It felt smooth, light, and it looked really shiny. I also started to think about what Dawn had said to me in the lab. 'Use any means necessary to get it on your side...' I floated the thought around in my head, then started thinking about whether or not I wanted to try communicating with my Pokémon. Maybe we had just gotten off on the wrong foot? Maybe it was just shocked and scared to meet me for the first time.

I checked the time on my phone. It read '11:29 AM'. I still had a lot of daylight to kill. I found a pretty good sized rock to rest my bag on, and did just that. I slowly trudged over to a small, open area. I looked down at my Pokéball which contained my starter. I slowly sighed and started thinking for a few moments. I decided to do what was probably against my better judgment and let it out of its Pokéball. I could try communicating with my Gligar, let it know that I just wanted to become friends. It could work. Hopefully at least.

I pressed the button on the Pokéball and it grew so it fit nicely in my palm. I loosened my grip on it, then tossed it up into the air. With a bright flash of light I saw the figure of the bat-scorpion emerge onto the ground before me. The Pokéball landed softly in the grass next to the Gligar.

The Pokémon looked confused for a second, then started to look around its surroundings. I sat in the grass behind it, holding my knees up to my chest while I patiently waited for it to notice me. It finally looked back towards me, and simply stared. We locked eyes and I swore even the wind went dead silent. The Gligar stood up more straight, and turned more towards me. Was this how I was supposed to do it? Maybe I should try talking to it.

"H-hey buddy," I managed to sputter out. "I'm your new trainer. You have to listen to my commands when we battle other Pokémon, and you can get stronger. Isn't that cool?" I don't know why, but in the few times where I've attempted to talk human language to a Pokémon, I always treat it like a younger kid. A younger kid who also happened to be a brick wall, because a brick wall had about the same amount of emotion my Gligar was showing. It was just staring back at me, with a blank expression. Oh God, what if it went brain dead from when I knocked it unconscious? I started closing the distance between the two of us by slowly crawling towards it. As I got a foot closer to it, I noticed a certain shine in the Gligars eye, and it smirked, just enough to reveal razor sharp fangs.

 _"Gli-gaaaaar!"_

I don't know what hit me first: The one hundred-three pound Gligar charging full force into my face, or the realization I was being attacked by a one hundred-three pound Pokémon. It was probably the Gligar, as I didn't struggle to get it off my face until my face underwent a very painful sensation. I fell onto my back _hard._

My body was struggling to get up, much less be able to channel all the strength I had to prying this thing off of my face. I had tried prying off the claws first, but that proved to be the hardest part to unclamp. Next I tried the wings. I managed to loosen it up a little, but it simply pulled itself back towards my face, even harder this time. At this point, I was starting to get a little light headed with the lack of oxygen reaching me, as there was a Pokémon blocking my only way of breathing. I then grabbed the tail of this damn thing. With all the strength that I could possibly muster, I pulled back on its tail, and I actually managed to fling it off pretty easily.

I greedily gasped for air, and I glared at the Gligar, who gracefully glided to the ground. "WITH THIS SHIT AGAIN?" I yelled, still gasping. It didn't respond, naturally, and flew towards me again. This time I was prepared. As it closed in, I grabbed its big claws with both my hands, stopping it in its tracks for a bit. It pressed on forward, but I pushed back, and I threw it to the ground. I quickly ran backwards and got some distance in between us. I stared down at it, and its smirk had seem to get bigger. "Look, I just want to talk, okay? I don't know what the hell you're trying to prove but-" I was cut off by the Gligar making yet another attempt to fly towards me. I was prepared to grab its claws again, but this time it flew under my hands, to my sides, and jabbed me with its right claw. Any air that was in my body was immediately knocked out, and the recoil had sent me to the ground a few feet back. I took a moment to try and catch my breath and get up, but I didn't notice the Gligar coming from behind, and it flew to my side again, once more jabbing me, this time in the back and with its left claw. That blow knocked me forward a foot, and sent my face into the dirt.

I slowly pushed myself up off the ground, my arms shaking as I did so. I spit out the dirt inside of my mouth and wiped the dirt off of my clothes. The Gligar was ten feet in front of me, standing there. Taunting me. That had made me angry. "Do you really wanna go? I have a much bigger height advantage! I could kick you across this field like a fucking football!" I lied through my teeth. Just because a Pokémon was small didn't mean it was weak. As I felt the Gligar while trying to pry it off my face I could feel most of its body was muscle. Hopefully it would buy my bluff.

It didn't. Instead, it stuck its tongue out at me. _Oh, it's fucking on you little shit._

While it still remained on the ground, I quickly ran towards it and attempted to actually kick it like a foot-ball. I hit it as hard as my foot would allow, and it was actually surprised at how much strength I had in my leg. It looked shocked, and was flown a few feet back, but it gently floated back to the ground. Kicking it was my first mistake. Have you ever tried to kick a really large rock with all your might? That's what this felt like. My leg jerked up at the pain and I held it in my hands, hopelessly hopping on one foot as I screamed multiple cusses in pain. My second mistake was knocking it into an area of the field where there was no grass, just dirt. As I lay on the ground in pain, I see from the corner of my eye a small dirt cloud forming. As I look directly at it, a large gust of dirt was launched in my direction, multiple dirt particles flying into my eyes. Up to this point in my life, I don't think I've ever experienced this much pain in multiple parts of my body.

With only the quarter of my vision that remained, I quickly scrambled to my bag to get out a bottle of water to rinse out my eyes. It took me a few moments to find the bottle, but once I did I basically treated every drop as if it were the holiest of all water. I flushed most of the dirt out of my eyes, but the stinging sensation still remained. I furiously looked around for the Gligar, but it wasn't anywhere to be seen.

" _God dammit. I knew this was a bad idea…"_ I thought. _"Where the hell is it?" I_ looked around frantically but couldn't find it.

"Get out here!" I shouted. I huffed out a bunch of air in frustration. I was just about to give up trying to find it, but a blur of purple appeared in the corner of my eyes. I quickly spun my head in the direction of the blur, and saw a scorpion tail retreating into a tree. _"There you are…"_

I looked at the ground below me, and picked up a bunch of fairly sizable rocks, most about the size of a Pokeball. I looked back at the tree, adjusting my stance to aim the rocks better. I narrowed my eyes and simply waited to see any movement in the tree. I stood perfectly still. Finally, I saw leaves fall, and branches rustling. I quickly threw a rock at the area, and threw another one just to be sure. I heard the second rock hit something, I had just hoped it was the Gligar. I waited a few moments, and the Pokémon had made its presence known by peering it's head out of the leaves. A very apparent bruise was now on the left side of its forehead, and it's eyes were now glaring me down. I think I even heard it snarling.

"Look, Gligar, this doesn't have to continue! All I want to do is talk things out!" Talking to it seemed useless at this point. It looked beyond angry, and I could honestly say I was probably the same. Suddenly, it let out a fierce _"Gaaaar!"_ and flew right over my head. I was a bit confused, but then I realized, a little too late, that it was circling around and headed straight for me again. I instinctively raised my arms to defend myself thinking it would go for my face again, but instead it stopped at my arms. And it bit into my left arm. _Hard._

My first reaction was to scream in pain, but instead I managed to stop them from leaving my mouth. I raised my arm so that I was at eye-to-eye level with the Pokémon. Blood was starting to drip from where the Gligar was biting me, but I had to push through the pain in order to show no signs of being hurt. The Gligar and I locked eyes, and it bit down even harder when I showed no signs of being hurt. This time I let out a pathetic little whimper under my breath, and was trying my hardest to fight tears. I even started biting the bottom of my lip to prevent myself from yelling. At this point, a small section of my hand was dripping with blood and starting to get on my shoes. Me and my Pokémon were locked in an intense staring contest. The Gligar started pinching the arm it was biting with its claw, making blood draw even faster. No matter how badly I wanted to scream, I had to hold it in to show this Gligar that I won't take its shit. I stared at it even harder, and the Pokémon actually loosened its bite on me.

"I don't want to fight you." I said simply. "You're a captured Pokémon, and I'm your trainer. No amount of physical abuse is gonna change that. So I present you with two options: Option A, you and I cooperate like a real team as most trainers and their Pokémon should do. You don't attack me, you accept the fact I'm in charge in this partnership, you can beat up on as many other Pokémon as you want, and together we can kick ass in the Pokémon League." The Gligar didn't respond, but its facial expression showed some interest. "Option B." I stated, rather bluntly. "You can continue to be an annoying little _shit_ , and I swear to God I will return you to your Pokéball, and leave you in a _fucking ditch_." I was quite pleased with how that had actually turned out. Hopefully that threat managed to convince it.

The Gligar looked at me, eyes still hard. "Make your decision." I said coldly. It looked at me more, but it eventually released my arm. " _Gli. Gli-gar._ " It said simply. "Good. Now we can finally be a proper team."

At this point my arm was bleeding like a river, and I think I may have bitten my lip too hard, as I tasted blood in my mouth, but not too much, so I didn't pay it much attention. I quickly pulled out my Gligar's Pokéball and returned it so it couldn't hear what came next. All the pain had finally gotten to me, and I let out the most blood curdling scream I had ever let out in my entire life. I even scared a flock of bird Pokémon out of a tree. I rushed to my bag to pull out a long roll of bandage which I knew my father would pack. I quickly wiped off the blood using a rag and some of the remaining water from the bottle I used to rinse out my eyes, but it made no difference. Blood kept coming out of my arm. _'How deep did this guy bite?'_ I thought as I started applying pressure to my arm.

It took about fifteen minutes before I actually started putting on the bandages. Even then, the blood never fully stopped, but instead was halted to a slow creep of blood if left unchecked. I wrapped the bandages over and over, making it as tight as I possibly could. When I was satisfied with my bandaging skills, I cut off the roll and stuffed it back into my bag. My arm stung like a bitch. I moved my fingers, but they moved in twitchy, sporadic movements. That didn't look too good. What sucked the most was the fact I'm left handed, so now I have to use my right hand for most things, which I rarely ever do.

I sent out the Gligar and it appeared next to me. I waited a few moments, then realized it wasn't going to attack me again. "So... Are you ready to head out?" I asked it. It looked up at me and nodded. _"Gli-gli!"_ It didn't seem too happy, but it wasn't exactly sad or mad. It was just content with my existence. And I was okay with that for now.

I picked up my bag from off the ground, and started heading down the path of Route 202 once more.

…

'3:43 PM' my phone read.

"Do you see anything?" I called out. Gligar was flying overhead looking out for Jubilife City. _"Gli-gli! Gar!"_ That seemed like a good sign. It started leading me in the direction it was flying towards. I couldn't help but feel pleased with myself. I managed to at least gain some respect from my starter Pokémon. It only cost me a pint of my blood. I constantly kept looking up at my Pokémon, just to make sure it didn't fly away. I had to be certain it wasn't feigning it's respect. Thankfully, it didn't look like it was.

I started feeling cold. It was odd because the weather was still pretty warm. I held myself closer to my body to keep warm, but it didn't help me much. The first buildings of Jubilife City started to come into view. Gligar slowly glided down next to me, and followed alongside me.

" _Gli, Gar-Gar!"_ It stated. I had a puzzled look on my face before admitting, "Look, most trainers just pretend to understand what you say, and it really depends on the circumstances." The Gligar just looked at me flatly before gliding ahead of me.

The archway that signaled the entrance to Jubilife City finally came into view. The first place I needed to go was the Pokémon Center and get my injuries properly checked. The last place I needed to go was home. I didn't want my parents to find out the first day of training entailed me being bitten by a Gligar. I started running towards to Pokémon Center, but it proved difficult because my entire body felt heavy all of a sudden. My legs felt like giant weights holding me down. Soon I was slowed down to a creeping halt, and was slowly trudging through the sidewalks of Jubilife. People who passed me were constantly giving me funny looks.

I was very confused as to why people were staring at me with weird looks on their faces, so I was about to whip my phone out to look at myself in the camera, but as I look down at my left arm, and saw the bandages almost completely stained red. The part that scared me the most was the fact I noticed my skin had almost completely been drained of color.

' _Oh God oh God oh God what do I do?'_ I helplessly thought to myself. I got really worried and started to panic. I kept thinking to myself, _'Am I gonna die?'_ I started frantically looking around the city, but now everything seemed to turn into a giant blur. I took a step forward, and the area around me seemed to be moving slower. Suddenly the ground rushed upwards to meet my face.

…

 _"...tar, ..lp me ou.. .re!"_  
 _"..hyd.."_  
 _"...eding! Car.. hi...ter!"_

I heard very faint noises. They sounded like voices, I think. They were very muffled and garbled, and I couldn't understand a word they were saying.

The next thing I remembered was feeling like a rag doll. I was looking down at the ground, at something white- no, gray. Suddenly I remember looking upwards. I think I saw the sky, which then turned orange to white. Everything after that is extremely fuzzy and black. I couldn't do much thinking anyways. It hurt to muster up a thought.

Then suddenly, a loud ringing sound in my ears which eventually went away.

I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn't quite get them open all the way. I opened them slightly, and in those tiny slits I was met with more darkness. I closed them again for a minute, then tried opening them again, this time with more success. I opened my eyes fully and got a view of what was above me.

A ceiling. In a dark room.

I immediately shot up, which I was surprised I managed to do. Instant regret as a head rush came over me. I winced at the feeling, but it passed over quickly. I was sitting up in a bed, in a dark room. I looked over to my left side to see a heart rate monitor, however not attached to anything. I was extremely confused as to what the hell was going on.

I spotted the digital clock which illuminated it's corner of the room in an ominous red glow. '1:07 AM' it read. I plopped my head back down on the pillow. _'No use in trying to get answers at this hour I suppose…'_

I fell back asleep rather easily, although no dreams were there to entertain me that night-

…

"You were suffering from both bad poisoning and very mild lack of blood," the doctor said. "That was before you collapsed on the ground, where you then cut your forehead, although nothing serious on that front, thankfully."

I was sitting up on the bed listening to my diagnosis while sipping on some oran juice. "Poisoning?" I asked curiously "How'd I get that?"

The doctor held out a Pokéball. "I assume this Gligar is yours?" I nodded, and he sighed. "Gligar are part poison types, and their fangs, pincers, and tail are the most poisonous parts. Judging by your injuries, you were hit by two of the three, and the poison had time to settle in your blood system. We already gave you some antibiotics when you were brought here, so most of that poison should be flushed out. The area on your arm where you were bitten was _properly_ bandaged, and should fully heal within the next two or three weeks."

"You said I was brought here. Any clue as to who did?" I asked, wanting to know. Maybe I could thank them later.

"A trainer like you I believe. I think she said her name was Elena. She had a Rhydon, which is what carried you here."

"Is she still here?"

"Well, she left the emergency wing an hour after she dropped you off and made sure you weren't going to die, but I'm pretty sure she's staying at trainer wing of the Center."

"Thanks for the info," I looked down at his name tag. "Dr. Colson."

"It's my job to help," he stated simply. "I took the liberty of packing some antibiotics for treating poison into your bag. Trust me, you'll need of for raising a poison Pokémon. You may need to buy more for the future."

"I take it you have a poison Pokémon then?"

"Drapion. Been a partner of mine since I was a teen. Also helps in the creation of antidotes."

I whistled, showing I was impressed. I didn't expect a doctor to have a Drapion, so I gained some more respect for him.

After I was done getting my diagnosis, the obligatory 'take care of yourself better' speech, and getting my things ready, I finally headed out of the emergency wing of the Pokémon Center, and went to find that other trainer who saved me.

...


	6. Elena

"All the single and double rooms are taken," Nurse Joy stated. That disappointed me a little. I didn't really feel like sharing a room with more than one other person, but I guess I had to start getting used to it if I were to become a trainer. "There are some triple and quadruple rooms however," she continued. I thought about it for a moment before finally replying "I'll take a triple room then."

"Great! You'll be in…" She scanned the screen next next to her. "…Room 214, second floor. Here's your key," she handed me a card with a Pokéball logo on it. "Thank you," I started walking away, but quickly turned on my heel to ask, "Is there a trainer in this Center by the name of Elena?"

Nurse Joy's face seemed to brighten a little hearing the name. "Ah! I know her. She's been helping around the Center recently. I think she's actually helping in the kitchen prepare the lunch for later right now."

"Trainers can help prepare the food here?"

"We don't have many _huma_ n workers to begin with, so we accept volunteers," she tilted her head at me. "You could help out too if you want." I thought about helping, and thought, _'Why not?'_ and accepted.

...

The kitchen was bustling with Pokémon and trainers alike making food to be served for later. Sandwiches, pasta, salad, seafood, and other such meals were being prepared. I walked around the kitchen rather aimlessly not exactly sure what to do.

"Hey you!" a voice called to me. I spun around and was met with a girl about my height with auburn hair. She was holding a bowl with one of her arms and mixing some sauce using the wooden spoon in her free hand. I stood there dumbly for a moment before realizing I had to reply. "...Oh, you're talking to me." I pretended to look around, expecting to find other people behind me that she could possibly be talking to instead, only to see nobody else was. Now I just looked kind of stupid.

"Yes, I was talking to you." she deadpanned. "I ruined a perfectly good shirt trying to save your sorry ass by getting your blood all over me," she scowled. I was taken aback by that, and didn't really know how to respond.

"I, uh-"  
"Not to mention how heavy you are to carry! I had to call my Rhydon out to carry you!"  
"Wait, listen-"  
"How did you even do something so irresponsible that you ended up passing out in the middle of the city?"  
"Look-"  
"And now you come in here? To, what, somehow end up unconscious on the floor while cooking, making me save you again?" She was glaring at me so hard I was honestly surprised I hadn't combusted into flames. "What do you have to say for yourself?" she demanded.

At this point I was basically speechless and had no words. "I... I..." She kept looking at me like I had just kicked a Lillipup. My face could probably rival a tamato berry in how red it was.

And then the girl grinned and burst into laughter. I just stood there, very confused as to what was happening.

"Haha, you're- you're face! Its- haha, its so red!" she continued laughing. "I'm sorry, but I've- I've always wanted to try acting like a total bitch to someone like that, ahaha," she then looked up at me and put her hand on my shoulder. "Really though, that was an expensive shirt. You owe me a new one... Kidding! Well, about that last part anyway."

I was still standing there like an idiot, very confused.

"Wait, so you're not mad?" I sheepishly asked.

"Of course not! It's not like I can blame you for going unconscious in the middle of the street and bleeding everywhere... well, maybe I can. I don't know how the poisoning and the injuries happened, but let's leave that part blank. It's probably better for you if I didn't know."

She said that in a cheerful voice, which was kind of scary since that last part sounded like a threat. "Right..." I nervously replied. I think she could tell I was pretty uncomfortable.

"Hey, you wanna make it up to me? Help me make this pasta, and I _might_ just think about forgiving you." She winked, then shoved the bowl of tamato berry sauce she was holding into my hands. "Just try not to bleed all over the food, okay?"

…

Lunch time rolled around, and trainers, along with some of their Pokémon were lining up to get food. Elena and I had gotten our food before anybody else, and got "the good seats" according to her. I wasn't quite sure what she meant by that, but I went along with her. The seats were placed near the back door of the Pokémon Center, right next to a giant glass window, which had a good view of the battlefield in the back. I plopped down on the seat across from Elena and set my sandwich onto the table.

"So from what I know, you have a Rhydon. Got any other Pokémon?" I asked her, then promptly took a bite out of my sandwich.

"I have four Pokémon," she held out four fingers and counted down each one. "My starter Pokémon was a Munchlax, now Snorlax, which I named Audrey; you'll get the reference behind that nickname if you know Munchlax, and know a thing about music. Next is my Azumarill which I named Azure because I wasn't a clever person, but soon changed its nickname to Torrent after I realized how much power it had. I have a Rhydon named Mortar because... well just because. Finally the newest member to my team is a Yanma, which I still haven't come up with a nickname for... Any suggestions?"

"I'm not very good with nicknames," I shrugged. "I still haven't come up with a nickname for my own Gligar."

"Oh, a Gligar? Hmm..." she thought to herself for a minute before finally standing up and shouting "DIRT WING!"

I looked at her with the face of confusion, and she looked back down at me. "What? He's a ground type and can fly. Dirt Wing?"

"That nickname is..." I started to say something, but then I repeated the nickname in my head. It was a dumb nickname, but now I couldn't get it out of my head.

"That nickname is what?"

"It's dumb, but I'm already getting attached to it!"

She let out a small giggle. "I like coming up with dumb, yet catchy nicknames." I rolled my eyes, then continued munching on the sandwich in my hands. "Got any other Pokémon?" I shook my head since I still had food in my mouth.

"Really? How long you been training?"

"What time is it?"

"Uh," she glanced up at the clock. "It's 1:03. Why?"

"I've officially been a trainer for about a day and about four hours."

"Ooooh," interest peaking in Elena's voice. "It's fun meeting newbie trainers."

I didn't know whether or not I should have taken offense to that.

"Oh, lighten up. We were all newbies at one point. My main question though: You're like thirteen. Why'd you start late?"

"Firstly, I'm fifteen, and I lived in Unova during the whole Plasma Crisis. And for a short time the Plasma Resurgence. My parents wouldn't let me become a trainer at the time." I briefly explained.

"Ah, so that's your whole origin story. By the way, you totally look younger than fifteen."

"Do you have a training story?" I questioned.

"Hm. Well, I was struck by lightning during a full blue moon in the brief moments every single planet was aligned exactly, an occurrence that only happens every 200,000 years, thus making me the chosen one. I was also snatched from my parents when I was born by a Braviary and was raised by a family of them until I was ten, where I then became a trainer. Any questions?"

I looked at her flatly, and she just smiled back at me. "You have nothing then?" I asked very bluntly. "Nope! I'm just an average, boring trainer. No interesting stories in my four years of experience. Surprisingly."

"Guess I shouldn't have too much hope for having an exciting adventure?"

"Nah, you shouldn't think like that. I'm sure you'll come across something interesting," she said reassuringly. "Told you we had the good seats," she jabbed her thumb out towards the window, and I looked out at the battlefield. A Lucario was getting into a battle stance, and a Golett raised both its fists at the Lucario from across the battlefield.

"Oh sweet, a battle! Who do you think will win? My money's on the Golett." I exclaimed. I was curious how the battle would go.

"The Lucario is gonna win for sure," Elena responded with confidence. She stabbed at her salad with a fork and shoved it into her mouth as she watched the battle unfold.

The Lucario started the battle by unleashing a Metal Claw on the Golett, but it hardly seemed to do a thing, as it just stood there taking the hit.

"You plan to collect badges?" Elena questioned. I was a bit surprised by the suddenness of the question.

"I do, actually," I replied. "Although, I guess so does every other trainer in this region."

The Golett seemed to leap into the air while its right fist began to glow, and punched the Lucario square in the face. The Lucario winced and staggered at the hit, but got back into its fighting stance rather quickly.

"There are a lot of trainers going for badges I notice. Myself included." Elena quickly threw her purse on the table and started rummaging through the bag to find something.

The Lucario seemed to be examining the Golett, probably using Foresight. It then unleashed a barrage of Aura Spheres at the smaller Pokémon. It seemed to be hit by the first two, but successfully dodged the other three. It then stood still, seeming to be in deep focus.

"Aha!" Elena exclaimed as she held up a red-pinkish case of some sort. She held it out in front of me and pointed to various things on it.

"This is my Sinnoh badge case, as evidenced by the Sinnoh League logo on the front." She quickly snapped it open using a button on the front. "Currently, I have six gym badges."

I examined each badge, some looking older and slightly rusted compared to others. "The ones I don't currently have are Snowpoint City's badge, and the badge from Veilstone," she quickly moved her finger to the silver and yellow badge. "The one from Sunnyshore was my first," then she pointed to the brown and silver one. "And this one I got two weeks ago from Canalave's gym."

The Lucario seemed like it was about to unleash a barrage of punches at the Golett, but the Golett quickly reacted and unleashed a powerful Focus Punch directly into the Lucario's face. The Lucario spiraled straight into the ground, and had a hard time getting up.

The badges were rather basic in color scheme, and in shape. So these are what some of the Sinnoh badges looked like. I've seen pictures of the Unova ones, those were very thin and angular.

"How often do you challenge gyms?" I asked her.

"The first one you can maybe get within the first few weeks of your training. I didn't really start collecting the badges until my second year of training though."

The Lucario got back into its fighting stance, and a staff shaped like a bone seemed to appear in its two paws. It swung the staff multiple times, hitting the Golett in the face and body.

"But it takes three years to challenge six of the gyms?"

"The gym leaders get tougher the more badges you get. They really start cracking down at four. It was nearly an eight month gap between my fourth and fifth badge."

"Damn, really? I thought people could obtain all eight badges in like, a year or something."

"Depends how well you trained your Pokémon I suppose," Elena shrugged. I liked hearing her talk about her training experience. It gave me some hints of what was possibly yet to come for me.

The Golett simply stopped the Lucario from hitting it by stopping it with Psychic. It was then lifted into the air, then slammed into the ground once more. The Lucario didn't get up after that.

"Ha!" I exclaimed excitedly. "I told you it would win!"

"Pfft, it's not like we shook on it or anything…" She jokingly retorted.

I gorged down the rest of my food since I was starving, and I even stole a bit of Elena's salad when she wasn't looking. She might have noticed, but just didn't mention it. We later found ourselves outside the Pokémon Center. Elena was showing me around the parts of Jubilife I never explored before, mainly because they were advertised towards trainers.

Elena pointed to a tall building with a blue dome roof. "That there in the distance is the Global Trading Station," she moved her finger to the shorter orange building on the opposite side of where we were facing. "And that there is the Pokétch Company. Sadly and slowly going out of business since smart phones became big." She explained.

We continued our sight seeing until we got near the north outskirts of the town. There seemed to be a grassy path, and in the distance I saw what looked to be a rocky hill. The sun was setting by the time we got there.

"Going that way will lead you to Floraroma Town, which is where I'm heading next." Elena said. She turned to me and asked, "Where are you going to be headed?"

I pondered that thought until I realized I know next to nothing about the locations of Sinnoh. "I really don't have a plan. I just kinda figured it would all come to me in due time, but I have no idea where anything in this region is." I admitted.

Elena rubbed her chin for a second before her face brightened up and she said, "You know, just past Floraroma Town is Eterna City. There's a gym there that you can challenge!" That started to peak my interest. "A gym? So I can get my first badge there?" I questioned.

Elena nodded, "Mhmm! And I had another idea. You ready for this?"

I simply nodded, and she carried on. "We're both basically headed the same direction anyway. How about we travel together for the time being? It can really help you, being a newbie and all."

I suddenly remembered Dawn's advice about there being strength in numbers. Plus, having a bit of companionship while walking along an empty road would be nice. "I like that idea! Just don't expect me to be carrying you in battles," I joked. She rolled her eyes and laughed, then gave me a little shove.

"Well alright then, starting tomorrow we make our way towards Floraroma Town."

…

By the time we made our way back to the Center, it was already dark. Only a few trainers remained in the lobby, and Nurse Joy was starting to sweep the floors.

"I'm on the first floor in room 103. How about you?" Elena asked. I pulled out the card Nurse Joy handed to me earlier to check my room number. "I'm in… Room 214, second floor."

"You gonna be up early to help make breakfast tomorrow?"

"Depends what time I need to get up."

"To make breakfast you'd have to be up by five."

I let out a groan. " _Five?_ Really?"

"Yes, really."

"I'll most likely just sleep in and miss breakfast all together."

"Don't do that, or else I might leave you going to Floraroma Town," she giggled.

We said our good nights and I walked up the flight of stairs to my room.

…

 **Authors Note: Oh my God, I've re-written the second half of this chapter like five times already. I liked how the first few bits came out, but anything after the kitchen scene is the fifth version of it. If you feel the same way, I can assure you chapters in the future will have much better writing. Feel free to let me know what you think, peace out.**


	7. Nathan

I walked up to the door that read 'ROOM 214'. I pulled out the card, but hesitated to swipe the card. I suddenly started getting thoughts to what kind of people I'd be sharing a room with. I quickly brushed the thought aside and swiped the card in the slot, and the door unlocked.

I walked in and was immediately greeted with a black hand with claws being thrust towards me. I quickly closed my eyes and jumped back, startled, until I opened my eyes and realized the claws had stopped an inch from my face. Behind the hand was a Zoroark staring me down.

" _Zzrghhhh…."_ The Zoroark growled. I stood there nervously, afraid that if I moved it could easily take my head off.

"Vigil!" I heard a voice shout. I saw a figure appear behind the Zoroark. "Stand down!"

The Zoroark lowered its claws and started backing away, but it kept glaring at me. The figure approached me, and I got a better look at the person. He had jet black hair, was pretty tall and well built. He also looked to be in his early twenties.

"Sorry about that, Vigil is pretty territorial and usually hops out of his ball when I'm not looking." He pulled out a green and black Pokéball, and the Zoroark retreated into it after a flash of red.

"It's alright," I sheepishly replied. "I'll just keep away from your Zoroark from now on."

"He's actually pretty friendly once you get to know him. He's just protective of his trainer, y'know?" He held out his hand. "Names Nathan. I assume you're our third inmate?" he chuckled. I shook his hand and replied, "Guess I am. Who's the third person?"

"Oh, there isn't a third person." He nonchalantly replied. I looked at him slightly confused. "I thought this was a triple room?"

"It is. Here's the thing: The triple rooms are always bigger, so I kind of trick the Nurse Joy at Centers by using my Zoroark's illusion ability by making it disguise as another person." He seemed rather proud of this, and I had to admit, it was pretty smart.

"That's… Kind of genius actually." I was pretty impressed. I guess you could get away with quite a few things if you had a Zoroark.

"I know it is! Anyway, you can choose whatever room you want, they're all pretty much the same size. Kitchen has quite a bit of food and refreshments too." Nathan explained. I heard a small purring noise, and looked down at Nathan's feet to see an Espeon. "Oh yeah, this is my starter Pokémon, Moonshine."

I have always had a deep love for the Eevee line of evolutions, and was happy to see my favorite among them. The Espeon looked up at Nathan, and there was a brief moment of silence. Suddenly Nathan spoke. "No you can't. We barely know him." Before I had any time to ask what he meant, I heard a voice.

" _What is your purpose here?"_ The voice was calm and echoey. I noticed the Espeon was staring directly at me. I stood there flabbergasted.

"Did… Did your Espeon just talk to me?"

" _Yes I did, human."_

I jumped back in surprise. I looked up at Nathan who was grinning and stifling a laugh.

"If Psychic Pokémon have enough energy to do so, they can talk to humans using telepathy." Said Nathan. "Moonshine just spoke to you, am I correct?"

I slowly nodded, then turned my attention to the Espeon who climbed some furniture to get closer to my face.

" _Your purpose, human."_

I gulped, and sheepishly said, "My… Purpose?"

" _Why are you in this room? In this building? In this city? In this region?"_ It demanded. It got louder as it listed each location. I was honestly intimidated by the small purple feline.

"I… I wanted to become a Pokémon trainer. I came to this region to become a Pokémon trainer. I'm stopping by in this city as I head to Floraroma Town…"

The Espeon seemed to glare at me. _"I sense something about you."_ Suddenly, a loud ringing sensation filled my ears, and then it was gone almost immediately. The Espeon then walked away from the both of us.

"What did he say to you?" Nathan questioned.

"He asked me what my purpose was here… Any clue what he means by that?"

"No clue. Moonshine always likes to speak so that you're always left confused. Anyway, it is getting pretty late. We should probably get going to sleep." Nathan said. I was feeling pretty tired, so I agreed with him on that front.

…

I changed out of my regular clothes into my pajamas. Day two of being a trainer under my belt. I was about to head to bed before I remembered my Gligar. I pulled the Pokéball from my bag. Did Pokémon sleep in their Pokéballs? I suppose I could let out my Gligar so it could sleep outside. I feel like I haven't been letting it out enough.

After the light faded, the Gligar was standing before me. It stuck it's tongue out, and began to observe the surrounding area. I think it realized it was in a bedroom, as it got comfortable on the bed.

"Hey, I need to sleep there!" I called to it. I pulled off two pillows from the bed and placed them on the floor. "You can sleep on that!"

The Gligar looked at me, before reluctantly gliding down to the sad little pillow bed. It got comfortable on that and simply laid down. I laid down on my bed staring at the ceiling.

"Tomorrow, we're gonna be traveling to Floraroma Town, so I'll let you out all day tomorrow, okay?" I said to the dark ceiling.

"Gli-gar…" it replied sleepily.

"Yeah, same." I pretended to understand it. I slowly drifted to sleep soon after.

…

I was floating. I found myself floating in mid air. I started to examine my surroundings, and noticed the world around me was surrounded by dark purple clouds. An infinite space of dark purple clouds. I tried moving, but I felt no weight in my body.

Suddenly, a platform appeared underneath me. I was pulled towards the platform, and it felt weird to actually stand on solid ground again. Nothing else in the dark purple world happened. I was just left to stand on the singular platform. To wait. But nothing happened.

Then I noticed it was slowly getting hard to breathe. I started gasping for air, and felt something heavy on my face.

…

My eyes shot open, but I couldn't see a thing. I still couldn't breathe, and my face was heavy. I then realized the Gligar on my face.

I managed to pry him off, and started desperately gasping for air.

"Is that your sick way of waking me up!?" I snapped. It floated down to my side.

" _Gli-gli!"_ It pointed it's pincers in the air.

"I really wish I knew what you were saying," I replied. I know Pokémon translators existed, but they were very expensive.

I wanted to roll back into the blankets and fall back asleep. I glanced up at the clock.

'10:21' it read. I slowly closed my eyes and wrapped myself in the blankets again.

Then I remembered about breakfast.

I immediately shot out of bed and frantically started throwing on some clothes. I was starving, and didn't want to miss out on breakfast. I rushed out the door, but was immediately stopped by a Nathan in my way.

"Oh, you're up?" he asked.

"I need to go down and get breakfast, no time to talk!" I said. He laughed and held out a styrofoam container.

"You were sleeping in pretty late, so I decided to pick you up some breakfast in case you missed it. Here, didn't know what you liked so I kinda got you a bit of everything."

I looked down and took the container. "Th-thanks…" I said, kind of surprised. I walked over to a table and opened the container, and I could feel my face light up with what I saw.

Oran Berry pancakes, a cheese omelette, bacon strips, and hash browns. I started popping hash browns into my mouth one after the other, and I heard Nathan chuckle behind me.

"Hungry I assume?"

"Mmph- very-" I said with a moth fill of hash brown. I started digging into the the pancakes before I heard something land next to me on the table.

" _Gli-gar gar!"_ Gligar whined.

I picked up a piece of bacon and held it out to it. "You want some bacon Dirt Wing?"

"Dirt Wing?" I heard Nathan ask. I had just realized what I said.

"I mean- Gligar! Dirt Wing is a dumb nickname someone made up the other day…" I tried to recover. The nickname was starting to be implanted into my mind.

"I think it's suiting, bring a flying ground type and all. But that's just me," he shrugged. Nathan sat down across from me and attempted to steal some of my food, but I hissed at him like a Purloin.

"Gligar your only Pokémon?" he questioned.

"Mmmhmm," I nodded. "Just started two days ago."

"Ah, gotcha. I remember my first two days. I had nearly died on three separate occasions."

"Three? Jesus. What happened?"

"The first one is when I encountered a rogue Electabuzz, the second involved a Whirlipede, and the third time I nearly fell off a cliff edge." He calmly pointed out.

"If I asked you how many times you've nearly died on your entire journey, how much would that total?"

"More than a hundred, that's for sure." He managed to snatch a piece of bacon from my food.

"So, what kind of trainer are you? Another badge collector I assume?" I asked. I discovered some fries underneath the omelette and started eating those.

Nathan seemed to think for a moment before responding. "I just like training Pokémon for the fun of it, y'know? I don't collect badges, I just want to have a good time. I do travel across multiple regions collecting various Pokémon, and I'm actually here in Sinnoh to do some research on the Great Marsh in Pastoria City."

I was interested in what he had to say. "So, you're like, what, a researcher?" I was curious.

"You can say that. I just work with people who help me get a better understanding for Pokémon. So, yes, I guess you could call me a researcher." He smiled and we continued to discuss things about each other and what we want to do in our futures.

Nathan's been a trainer for nearly ten years now, and has more Pokémon than he's legally allowed to carry with him, as the limit is six. He has his Espeon and Zoroark, his right and left hand partners, a Flygon which he uses to get around, a Stoutland which was originally his household pet, and many others which included a Heracross, something called a Kingdra, and a Pokémon called Altaria. Nathan was a pretty interesting guy.

"Hey, listen, I have to get going and meet with a friend. It was cool talking to you… I just realized I don't even know your name." Nathan said as he threw on his bag.

"Oh! Right! I completely forgot!" I held out my hand, "I'm Marcel!" He shook my hand.

"Hopefully we run into each other again. I'm staying in Pastoria City for quite a while to work on my research. Come by and drop in to say hi when you get there." Nathan said with a smile.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind. I'm headed to Floraroma…" I had just suddenly remembered something. "Town! Shit- crap- Elena! I forgot about her!" I panicked, and j scrambled to get my stuff together. I heard Nathan laugh from the doorframe he was standing in.

"See ya around little man." And he walked out.

…


	8. The Ravaged Journey

I threw everything into my bag as quickly as possible, grabbed it, and bolted out the door. I quickly looked down at my phone, and the time read '12:09'. I really hope Elena hadn't left yet.

I ran down the stairs, nearly bumping into another trainer going up. I rushed into the hallway where I saw 'ROOM 103' on the door. I ran up to it and started knocking on the door, hoping she would answer. I waited around seven seconds before knocking again, and finally the door was opened, and I was greeted with a "Yeah?" A blonde girl with a messy, inside out, and I think even backwards shirt opened the door. I pushed past that part and continued.

"Hi, is Elena in this room?" I asked between gasps as I tried to catch my breath. The girls expression didn't change, but she called out behind her "Elena! Someone's here for ya!" The girl promptly left me in the doorframe to wait, and Elena's figure soon appeared.

"I expected you to at least wake up for breakfast," Elena deadpanned. "But no, I'm left to make breakfast on my own with Nurse Joy, and wait hours for you." She glared at me.

"Look, I'm really sorry about-"

"I don't even want to hear it! The only reason I didn't leave without you is because you still owe me for saving your life!"

"You're still mad about that? I thought… Wait. You're totally just screwing with me again aren't you?"

She kept her glare and I stared back with my own fake glare. The staring contest lasted a good ten seconds before we both burst into laughter.

"You're getting better at spotting fake anger. I'll just have to step up my game I guess. You can expect a lot of it from me, as my sense of humor mainly revolves around playing with emotions." She giggled. The way she said it gave me a creepy yet fun vibe about her. "Although, that's not to say I'm not kind of annoyed. I kind of wanted to get to Floraroma by this afternoon, and considering it basically is the afternoon…" She left me to complete that thought on my own.

I looked at her rather sheepishly. "Heh… Sorry. I was pretty tired," I said as I rubbed my neck. "At least we're headed out now, right?"

"Yes we are heading out now. If we hurry, we can get to Floraroma by tonight."

"Why do you wanna get there so quickly?" I questioned.

"You'll see when we get there!"

…

We came to the same road as yesterday, which led us to the outskirts of Jubilife City. The path started becoming less organized, and looked like it was transitioning into dirt. There was a sign which read 'LOWER ROUTE 104', and just below another which read 'RAVAGED PATH AHEAD'.

"Ravaged path?" I asked. "Doesn't seem like an entirely safe area."

"Oh it's fine," Elema reassured. "It's just a very- I mean, not at all dangerous cave in which falling boulders are a hypothetical and potential hazard." She smiled meanwhile I felt a draining sensation in my face. I heard her laugh when she took note of my change in expression. "Don't look so worried, the boulders aren't that common, and no major injuries have been reported there… Yet." She ominously added.

"…Is that gonna be the only way to Floraroma Town?"

"Yup! Let's go!" She grabbed my arm and started marching cheerily. Lower Route 104 was a pretty clear path. There was a nice little lake we passed by, and we saw some neat Pokémon.

"What's that thing? In the tree?" I pointed to a tall brown oak tree.

"That? That's a Burmy! And the thing flying next to the tree is a Mothim, and the one flying with it is a Staravia! … Oh God… Well, the thing inside the Staravia is a Mothim!" She cheerily said. I was kind of glad the sun was in my face when the circle of life decided to display itself.

Elena pointed out all the native Sinnoh Pokémon I wasn't aware of. Apparently Burmy come in three forms, and can evolve into either a Mothim or something called Wormadam. It gave me a sense of wonder, seeing Pokémon I've never seen before. It was like discovering a whole new world.

I heard Elena chuckling at something while I observed a purple monkey with two hand tails feed sitrus berries to smaller purple monkeys with one hand tail. "Something funny?" I asked.

She looked up at me. "Huh? Oh, no, I'm just watching you observe all these new Pokémon you've never seen before. Your face of wonder is cute." She smiled as she said this.

I couldn't help but blush a little at that. "Oh, well I guess I can't help it. It's like exploring a foreign planet and discovering alien life. How did you react when you saw Pokémon you've never seen in your life?" I asked her, still blushing a little. I tried to hide my face.

"Well, it's about the same as you. I was filled with amazement! The first Pokémon that gave me that feeling was a herd of Deerling and Sawsbuck I came across in the forest. I think I ended up watching them for half an hour before trying to approach them. Most of the herd ran away, but I managed to get one of the baby Deerling close enough so I could pet it. It liked it and started following me around. Such a sweet little thing."

"Why didn't you catch it?"

"Oh, trust me, I wanted to, but the second I pulled out a Pokéball three of the Sawsbuck started approaching me threateningly. I backed away and said goodbye to the Deerling, then continued down the route I was on."

The story made me smile too, because I knew how sweet Deerling could be. She continued to tell me some of the stories and adventures she had had during her training career as we walked. I started to tell her about my Unovan adventures before becoming a trainer.

"Castelia City is probably the one place I'm going to really miss about Unova. I didn't go there often since I lived on a separate land mass from it, but it was still great. I absolutely love the city life." I explained. Elena seemed to be in awe when I talked about cities in Unova, especially when I talked about how big they were.

"Seriously? Almost every building is a skyscraper? There are only like, three in all of Jubilife, the main city of Sinnoh!"

"Hell yeah, it was almost scary to look directly up at them, as they look absolutely colossal."

"That's so cool… So, what's happening with the whole Team Plasma thing? What's their deal?" Elena questioned. I could hear the curiosity in her voice.

I let out a sigh and began to explain. "They were protestors, talking about stuff like how Pokémon shouldn't be used as tools or slaves to man, and that all Pokémon should be liberated…" I tried to recall most of the major events that happened. "When they didn't get much attention, they resorted to forcefully stealing and liberating Pokémon, and they finally gained media attention. It soon all went out of hand pretty quickly and they started doing more and more radical things, one of which involved the destruction of the Pokémon League."

"They got away with that!?"

"Well, they were put down on the day that happened by some trainers who were challenging the league that day, and the gym leaders. After that they just kind of disappeared, until about a few months ago…"

"So they came back huh?"

"Yep, and it's because of them I was so delayed in becoming a trainer. Also because of my… Parents…" It just occurred to me I hadn't actually spoken to my parents since I started my training. I quickly pulled out my phone, but it was dead. I forgot to charge it.

"Is something wrong?" Elena asked, a little bit of worry forming in her voice.

"My... My parents. I still haven't called them to let them know how I'm doing… My mom hasn't even called since I started, and she didn't even know I was going to train…"

"Wait, you didn't tell your mom that you're training Pokémon!? She's probably worried sick!" she scolded.

"No no, it's not like that at all! My mom absolutely refused to let me become a trainer, however since my dad was one, he encouraged me to become one. My dad woke me up super early in the morning to sneak me out to go to Rowan's Lab before my mom woke up… I just thought they would eventually call…" I trailed off.

"When we get to Floraroma Town, you need to call your parents." Elena sounded like a parent scolding their child.

"I will, I will!" I threw hands up on the air. "I just don't know how my mom will react…"

Elena looked at me with some sadness in her eyes, before changing the subject. "Hm… Oh! Hey, check it out over there!" She was pointing at a rocky cliff. "The Ravaged Path!" We both ran up to it, and I got a better look at it. It was a steep cliff slope with a crude looking cave entrance.

"This doesn't look entirely safe…" I worried. The entrance itself had a few sharp rocks.

"Oh it's fine, trust me! I've been through here a million times!" Elena boasted. I honestly didn't know whether to trust her or not, but before I had a chance to say anything, she once again grabbed my arm and pulled me with her.

"You need to stop doing this!" I pleaded as I was dragged into the cave. The coolness of the cave had caught me by surprise. It felt rather nice as the sun had been pretty hot.

"See? It's completely fine in here!" Elena had let go and started spinning with her hands in the air. "Totally safe!"

I started to feel a little better about the situation. "Oh right!" I remembered I would let my Gligar out of its Pokéball. I grabbed the ball and threw it, releasing the Pokémon. _"Gli-gar!"_

"Hey Dirt Wing!" Elena teased. I shot her a glare and she just giggled. "You like the name, you just don't wanna admit it!"

I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to the Gligar. "You agree Dirt Wing is a horrible nickname, right?"

" _Gar!"_

"See? He agrees it's dumb."

" _Gli? Gar-gar!"_ It snapped back. Elena giggled "Actually, I think he likes it!"

" _Gar!"_

I slumped down and let out a sigh. _"Fine,_ Dirt Wing will have to do…"

Elena smiled and we continued to venture into the cave. "We go this way to Floraroma Town I believe…" Elena said as she stared at a map. "Yes! This way!" She pointed to a direction and started marching. We kept walking until we came across a large boulder.

"Looks like this thing fell from the ceiling recently. Well, nothing we can't solve," Elena pulled out a blue and red Pokéball. "Go Torrent!"

After a flash, I saw a tall, round figure appear. _"Azuuu!"_

"Use Brick Break on these boulders!"

" _Zuu-ma!"_ The Pokémon lunged toward the boulder with a glowing hand, and hit the it with a powerful blow. The boulder smashed into hundreds of tiny little pieces, successfully clearing the path. "Great job!" Elena gave a thumbs up. "Now, return!" She pulled out the Pokéball again and the creature was returned into the capsule. I just looked on in amazement.

"So… That's an Azumarill?" I asked her. "Yup!" She replied. "Bit of a powerhouse that one. I was surprised myself. Anyway, I believe the exit is just this way. Come on!"

She waved her hand the direction she was running and I followed her, Dirt Wing close behind. It turned out, Elena was wrong, and that wasn't the exit at all. We kept wandering in the cave before Elena slumped down to her knees. We had been walking for what was maybe an hour.

"Okay, Marcel, I'm going to say something, but don't freak out, okay?" Elena said looking up at me. I just looked back at her with suspicion.

"We're lost."

"Yep, I figured…" I sat down on the hard rock floor next to her. "Maybe we should've left a trail of breadcrumbs." I added sarcastically. She ignored my comment and seemed to be thinking to herself. "Maybe if we…" She quickly examined the walls of the cave. "Follow me this way!" Elena quickly stood up, some confidence forming in her voice. I followed her down a branching path for about fifteen minutes before we came across a lake within the cave.

"Yes!" She cheered. "I think I can find the exit if we go around the lake!"

I looked around the lake, but there didn't seem to be any place to walk around. "Go around where? There's not much room unless we shimmy across the edge of the left wall." I stated. Elena realized I was right and thought for a moment. "I know!" She fished out the blue and red Pokéball once more. "Torrent, you're up again!" She threw the Pokéball above her, and the Azumarill appeared in the water. Elena gracefully caught the Pokéball mid air. "Marcel, take off your bag." I hesitated, but I took off my bag and she did the same with hers. "Quick, now take off your shoes and shirt." Elena added. I was starting to see where she was going now."

"I'm not liking this idea…" I sheepishly said.

"What? Taking some of your clothes off in front of a girl?"

"No, I meant swimming across."

"…Right. But don't worry, Torrent is a really good swimmer, so don't worry about a thing!"

I started doubting what she had to say after the fifth time I heard her say 'This is the exit for sure!' but I still complied with her wishes. I removed my shoes and shirt and put them into my bag, then looked up to see Elena stripping nearly everything, but she seemed to be wearing a swimming bikini underneath her clothes.

"Do you always wear a bikini under your clothes?" I asked her. "Only when I'm out traveling like this. I'd like to think I'm a pretty good swimmer, so I usually take swims with Torrent. Anyway, come and take the bag!" She called out to the Azumarill. _"Azuuu!"_ It trilled. I saw something fly over me. _"Gaaar!"_ It called out. The Azumarill swam away with our backpacks, and it swam pretty damn fast. It was back near us again in about thirty seconds.

"Okay Marcie, hop on Torrent and hang on tight," Elena winked.

"Did you just call me-" I was cut off by the sound of Elena diving into the water and beginning to swim across the lake. I rolled my eyes and jumped into the water, which was actually pretty warm. I held onto the Azumarill like a floaty as it swam me across the water. We arrived on the other side first, but I didn't see Elena.

"Elena?" I called out. No response. I called out again. "Elena? Are you there?" Still no response. I walked over to the waters edge and called out once more. "Elena? Are you-" Suddenly a hand reached up from the water and grabbed me, pulling me back into the water. I opened my eyes beneath the water, and saw Elena smiling at me. I quickly swam upward and gasped for air. Elena came up next to me laughing.

"Haha, sorry, I've also wanted to do that as well…" Elena laughed as she swam to the edge. I grabbed on to the rocky ground and pulled myself out of the water.

" _Gli-gli-gar!"_ I heard my Pokémon laugh above me. "Shut up," I casually said as I started wringing out my shorts. I glared up at Elena, who looked back at me with a face of innocence. "You're not mad about that, are you?" She sweetly asked. I sighed. "I'm just a little annoyed about that," I said, and saw a sad expression form on Elena's face, making me instantly regret it. "Hey, it's fine!" I tried to reassure. "It was pretty funny. I guess I'm just kind of getting sick and tired of this cave." Elena's face brightened once more. "Well, good thing the exit should be close by! We shall remain in this cave no longer!" She made an attempt to do a deep noble voice.

" _Azu! Marill!"_ Torrent called out. It was pointing to our bags. "Oh right!" Elena smacked her head. "I guess putting our clothes back on would be important…" We put our clothes back on which proved easier for me as I only had a shirt and shoes. Elena returned Torrent into the Pokéball, and we followed the path after the lake. Dirt Wing led the way, even though it was a straight path. I suppose it made him feel important.

"Look! The exit!" Elena called, and she started running towards the arched exit, and I ran after her. It eventually turned into a race, and I tried outrunning her, but she seemed to burst into a sprint at the last second. We both burst out of the cave, and I was smacked in the face with a burst of cold air. We both fell to the ground panting and giggling, which didn't help us catch our breath at all. I was laying on my back when I looked up and realized the sky was already dark.

"What time is it?" I asked Elena. She examined her watch. "7:56… How long were we in that cave?" She questioned, knowing I didn't know the answer myself. I got up off the ground and grabbed Elena's hand to help her up as well. "How much farther up is Floraroma Town?" I asked her. She thought in her head for a bit before replying with "About an hours walk… Ugh… That's enough walking for today, don't you agree?"

I could not have agreed with anything more at that moment. My feet felt sore as hell. "I agree with that statement more than anything right now. Does that mean we need to camp out for tonight?" I asked her. Camping out seemed like it could be fun.

"Yup! Ever camp out before? It's fun, trust me!" Elena winked. I started to notice whenever she winked, only bad things would happen.

…

We had diverted off of the main path and found a small clearing in the forest, where we decided to set up our camp.

I fumbled with the sticks and pieces of string that were the ingredients to creating a tent.

"All done!" Elena beamed. I looked over to her perfectly made orange tent, then looked over to my mess of a tent. "Can I get some help here? I don't know what I'm doing…" I admitted helplessly. She walked over to try and help me with my tent. "Well first of all… I didn't even give you enough materials to make a tent," Elena laughed. I looked at her confused. "Wait what? Where am I gonna sleep then?"

She pointed towards the orange tent she set up. "Sorry about the minor prank, hehe. We'll both be sleeping in there. Don't worry, it's bigger on the inside." Once again, before I had time to respond, I was being dragged by my arm towards the tent.

"Ta-daaaa!" She sang. It was a fairly big tent which could fit two people. There was a blue and red sleeping bag with a lantern in between the two. "Red or blue?" She asked me.

"Um, blue?"

"Too bad, I like blue. You get the red sleeping bag!" She trotted over to the blue sleeping bag and set down her backpack. "Why did you even bother to… Never mind…" I muttered.

"Now, if you don't mind, I need some privacy to change into my pajamas," Elena shooed me out the tent flaps and I was left to wait outside. I looked around the area and saw my Gligar on top of a tree, already fast asleep. I decided to take the opportunity and quickly change into my pajamas… Which I then realized I only ever usually sleep in my boxers and undershirt. I sighed and just took off my damp shorts and removed my shirt, leaving me only in my underclothes. I hung the damp clothes on a nearby branch to dry, and I heard Elena give the okay to coming back inside. I trudged back into the tent and was greeted with a whistle when I entered.

"Well that doesn't leave much to the imagination now, does it?" I heard her have to bite back a laugh as she said that. I just shot her a glare and stuck my tongue out at her, then wrapped myself in the sleeping bag. She looked at me with a flat, yet somehow playful expression. "Oh come on, I thought guys took that as a compliment."

"Not coming from you," I teased back.

"Wow, rude."

I felt a light kick come from her at my leg. "Im pretty tired, you?" She asked me.

"I think I've been tired this entire day," I yawned.

"As evidenced by this morning. You gonna sleep now?"

"Mhmm."

"Alright cool. I'll sleep in like five minutes, so you can go and go to sleep now."

I felt myself already drifting as she said that. "Mkay… Nighty night…" I sleepily said.

I heard a small giggle, then "Goodnight Marcel. Don't let the Pinsir bite, as they could easily rip you in half." I had no idea what a Pinsir even was, but that last sentence was probably enough fuel for the nightmare machine.

But instead, I found myself drifting through the purple cloud world once more.

…


	9. Floraroma Town

Once more, I was floating in the sea of purple clouds, but the platform had appeared quicker than it had last time. I set myself down on the platform, and looked around. Nothing but purple clouds.

Suddenly, more platforms started appearing, almost forming a stairway upwards. I followed this stairway until I came across a wall made of the same stuff the blue-ish platforms were. What was I supposed to do now? I looked up and saw several broken walls going upward.

I then realized I felt basically weightless, so I attempted to jump up the wall in an attempt to climb it, but was instead gravitated towards the wall, and was now standing sideways. Or at least, I was sideways, but I felt just normal. The stair way platforms were now on their side. 'What the hell was going on?' I wondered to myself. I continued to follow the platforms until I reached a very large one, and in the center was a tiny red orb. I tried to approach the orb, but the second I got near it, a sharp ringing sound had entered my ears, and everything sort of just stopped.

…

I was jolted awake in the sleeping bag and found myself covered in sweat and panting. I looked around, and saw it was still dark, but Elena was up as well.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked me, sounding worried. "You woke me up with all the tossing and turning you've been doing."

I buried my head in my hands for a moment then came back up. "Yeah I'm fine… Just bad dream and all…" I replied, scratching the back of my head. It wasn't even really a bad dream, just a weird lucid dream.

"You sure it was just a dream? You were pretty active for an unconscious person…"

"Yeah, I'm fine… Just- just go back to sleep, alright?" I said, kind of feeling bad at the fact I woke her up.

"Are you sure? What if-"

"Go back to sleep Elena, I'll be fine."

She looked at me with kicked Lillipup eyes and whispered, "Okay then… Goodnight."

"Night," I replied. I laid back down on the sleeping bag, staring up at the roof of the tent. I wondered why I had basically the same dream twice in a row, but the thoughts didn't last long, as I drifted to sleep once more afterward. This time, my dream was about a giant bug Pokémon with giant claws on its hands, attempting to rip me in half. I hoped that's not actually what a Pinsir looked like.

This time, I woke up more pleasantly, to the smell of roasting berries. And then a loud, ear piercing groan.

" _SNOOOOOOORRRR!"_

"I'll get you more food when we get to Floraroma Town Audrey!" I heard Elena yell. I crawled out of the tent to see a Snorlax standing on its two feet, looking irritated.

" _Laaaah!"_ It groaned. It then pointed to a large plate of roasted berries. "No!" Elena snapped. "Those berries are for Marcel and I to eat!"

" _Grooohhh!"_ It whined. Elena continued glaring at the Snorlax until it finally got the message. It then flopped on to its back with such force it seemed to make the earth shake. It then started to snore loudly. Elena closed her eyes and pressed her hand against her forehead, and simply returned the giant Pokémon without looking.

" _Rhhhyyy…"_ Something growled behind me. I looked back and saw a Rhydon standing tall and looking down on me. I let out a small yelp and quickly scampered away from it towards Elena, and I bumped into her.

"Oof! Oh, hey, you're up. Up early as well." Elena remarked. I didn't realize it was actually that early.

"It's pretty hard to ignore the roar of a colossal Pokémon,"

"Heh heh… Sorry about that…" Elena replied sheepishly. "Audrey gets pretty mad if I don't have enough food to feed her, which is a pretty regular occurrence given how much she eats. I'm preparing some breakfast if you wanna help out with that,"

"Might as well try and make it up to you for last time I guess," I chuckled. She smiled and pulled out a camouflage colored Pokéball. "Alright then, Yanma, come out!"

A Yanma appeared from the Pokéball, fluttering its wings faster than I could comprehend. It was however, pretty small for its species.

" _Yanmaaaa-a-a-a!"_ It shrieked.

"Alright little guy, you're gonna help my friend here find some berries, got it?" Elena told the Yanma. Her hair was being blown by the speed of the wings.

" _Yan, yaaa-a-an!"_

It was pretty grating to hear the voice of the Yanma in such close proximity. I looked up at the trees and saw my Gligar still perched on the top.

"Hey Gligar, you-"

"Dirt Wing." Elena added in.

I rolled my eyes at her. " _Dirt Wing,_ do you want to help me look for berries?" I called out.

He got up at the mention of food. _"Gli-gli!"_ It called back, and glided down towards us. "You gonna help us look for berries Dirt?" I asked it.

" _Gli?"_

"Dirt Wing is a mouthful, so I think I'll just call you Dirt for now."

" _Gliii…"_ It seemed slightly annoyed, but didn't retaliate.

"Alright, you three get some more berries, then we can have breakfast!" Elena said, pointing us in a direction. Yanma and Dirt seemed to fly off in their own direction, and I was left to search for berries on my own. I slipped my clothes back on and wandered through the forest in search of berries, and they were fairly abundant. By the time I was done collecting I had amassed at least twenty six Oran berries. Those types were typically the most common, and luckily they were also my favorite of the berries.

I started walking back to the camp before I realized… I didn't know where the camp was. I had taken so many twists and turns while looking for berries I lost track of where I went. I started walking around in order to look for familiar surroundings.

Unfortunately, almost every tree looks about the same to me.

"Dirt!? Yanma!?" I called out, hopefully expecting a response. As I probably should have predicted, there was none. I started getting worried, and ate a berry or two in order to soothe me. I started thinking to myself, _'Man… Hopefully my screams will attract the attention of someone… My phone's still dead so no chance in trying that… Wait!'_ I quickly set down the berries on the ground and rummaged through my bag pockets and pulled out the red capsule looking thing. _'My Pokédex!'_

I pressed the button and it whirred to life. I scanned the screen until I found the selection which read _'MAP'_. I pressed it, and waited for the screen to load, which showed the general location I was in. I had actually managed to stumble closer to Floraroma Town than I would have imagined, but I started towards the main road to get to the area near the Ravaged Path where we had set up camp. I scooped up all the berries and made my way down.

Finding the camp was easy once I had gotten back onto the main path. It was simply a matter of finding the clearing where we had made our camp.

"What took you so long!?" Elena scolded. "I was starting to get worried when Yanma and Dirt Wing arrived here before you!"

" _Yaaa-aaa!"_

" _Glig-gar-gar!"_

Dirt was perched atop a low hanging branch next to the tent, and Yanma was simply hovering there next to him.

"I got a bit lost coming back, but I'm all good now. Look! I even have some berries for you!" I said with a smile. She examined the berries and took them from me. "Hm. Good job actually. That's probably enough to last me until tomorrow's breakfast." She walked over to the already roasted berries and started crushing some of the Oran berries over them, so the juice leaked onto them. She then took a Sitrus berry and Pecha berry and put them in a bowl. She manually ripped them in half and squeezed the juice into the bowl. The pinkish and yellowish juice formed together to make something light green after she stirred them together and added some Oran berry juice.

"What are you making?" I questioned. I had never seen anyone utilize so many berries to make food. "Right now, I'm making some beverages. A trainer I met a while ago taught me how to make this stuff, and I have to admit, it's pretty good," she remarked. She turned her attention back to the roasted berries and grabbed something out of her bag. It was a ziplock bag with a light brown powdery substance, and she carefully sprinkled it over the berries.

"And that stuff?"

"This is just some grounded hazelnut. It gives it a bit more flavor. And this," she pulled out another ziplock bag, this one much smaller, and it contained a red substance. "This, is some Tamato berry sprinkles. You like your food spicy?" She asked me.

"Extra spicy," I replied rather cockily. I did have a strong liking towards spicy food.

"Whatever you say," she sprinkled some over the berries, and added a little extra to one side. She then pulled out two plates and split the food into two portions. The Sitrus Pecha and Oran juice from earlier was poured into two cups, and she handed me a fork.

"Ta-daaa!" Elena happily cheered. "Presenting my signature berry breakfast!" She set the plates and cups down on a flat piece of ground so the cups wouldn't spill, and we sat cross legged to eat it.

"Do you only utilize berries in your meals?" I asked her. "Do you over use things like- things like meat?"

She stopped her fork before food entered her mouth and seemed to stare out into space before setting the fork down and looking at me.

"I… I kind of stopped eating meat after I began training..." She sheepishly admitted.

"You stopped eating meat? Why?" I questioned.

"Well... the idea of killing a Pokémon to eat it seemed wrong to me after I started raising Pokémon for myself…" She rubbed her arm and looked down at her food. I suddenly felt really bad for asking. What she said was actually really understandable.

"Oh… Shit- I'm sorry! I didn't-"

"It's okay Marcel. You don't have to apologize. You didn't know." She replied, looking at the ground. I felt ashamed for even bringing up the topic. I looked down sadly and took a bite of the roasted berries. A sudden sensation of sweetness, bitterness, and spiciness spread throughout my tongue. I couldn't help but smile at the taste. It made me feel a little better, but I still felt like an asshole. I heard a small giggle from Elena. "What?" I asked, then took another bite from the berries. I heard another giggle. "The way your face lit up when you tried the food. It was cute," she kept giggling.

"You said the same thing when I was looking at Pokémon I've never seen before," I remarked.

"Guess I did…"

We finished up our meals and started to pack up the camp, starting with the tent. Dirt Wing helped clean up the food by eating all the leftovers (which also included a good portion of the food I had planned to eat). The compressing tent fit nicely in Elena's backpack, and we started to head out back to the main path leading to Floraroma Town, which was fairly uneventful for the most part.

…

"It's so beautiful!" Elena exclaimed as she looked at the acres of flowery fields. We had arrived outside of Floraroma Town, and I could definitely see why the town got its name. It also had a very pleasing smell, which was a good refresher compared to dirt paths. "Isn't it pretty?" She excitedly asked me, her eyes shining brightly. It was a very pretty sight, I had to admit. The floral patterns created by the array of flowers spread throughout painted a beautiful picture.

"It's cool I guess," My masculinity had to do the talking in order to keep the shred of dignity Elena held for me. "Just cool? Oh, I get it, you're distracted by the true beauty in front of you, right?" She teased while making an attempt to block my entire field of vision using her body.

"The only thing I really notice is the field," I fully remarked, well aware of her attempt at self confidence. She fake pouted and sulked. "You don't have to hide the fact you think it's pretty. I wouldn't think any less of you," Elena winked.

"But if I did, it'd make me look like a pansy," I attempted at a pun.

"Haha, flower jokes." Elena said dully, but I heard a slight chuckle. Pun successful.

Elena, as if getting a great boost of energy, soared through the fields on the way to Floraroma Town with her arms to her sides. I had a hard time keeping up with her, and found myself running out of breath constantly while chasing her, meanwhile she only seemed to be on her first wind.

"Look! It's the town!" I barely heard her call because she was so far ahead. I sprinted as hard as I could, and finally caught up to her. It only cost me my lungs.

"Why… Why are you going so fast…" I sputtered in between breaths. She spun on her heel doing a full 180 to face me. She continued to run while backwards, making me a little worried for her safety. "Like I said, you'll see when we get there!" She sang. She did another 180 and continued to sprint. "One final stretch!" She yelled, and ran even faster than she already was. That girl could definitely run. The ground got steeper and I realized we were running down a large hill. I looked ahead of us and saw buildings surrounded by a plethora of flowers. I spotted the Pokémon Center, which is what Elena was running towards. I gave up trying to catch her and slowed down so my lungs didn't collapse on themselves.

I trudged over to the Pokémon Center and basically collapsed on the ground trying to catch my breath. Apparently I wasn't the only one who was catching my breath, as I noticed Elena on the floor next to me laying on her back, exhaling panting so hard I was surprised she didn't dehydrate herself on the spot.

I rolled over to get closer and face Elena. "Are you okay?" I asked her, still gasping myself. She turned to me and started laughing. I couldn't help but laugh as well, even though there was nothing funny other than Elena laughing. In the end, we both looked like crazy people on the floor laughing like we were mad.

We eventually came to our senses and got up off the floor, but still giggling slightly. She finally responded to me, saying, "That was just really- haha, fun. I didn't even know I was capable of running that fast," she kept giggling.

"You laugh a lot," I remarked. "It's not a bad thing though."

Saying that made her laugh more. "It's something about this town. I always love coming here!" She exclaimed. I sensed all the eyes looking at us like we were crazy, which in all reality, we probably were.

"Now that we're here, care to tell me why you wanted to come here so badly?" I asked her.

She smiled and pointed to something behind me. I looked behind me to see a poster which read:

 _ **'25th ANNUAL FLORAROMA POKÉMON CONVENTION'**_

 _ **'Participate in a variety of activities for trainers and Pokémon alike!'**_

 _ **'Enter Pokémon Contests, or test your skill in battle by entering in the Floraroma Tournament, with a grand prize for the winner!'**_

 _ **'Located in the Floral-Fuego Center in Floraroma Town from May 8th to May 24th!'**_

I looked back down at Elena to see her eyes bright with excitement after I read the poster. "There are even gonna be some famous Pokémon trainers attending this convention!" She squealed. I think I remember hearing something about this convention before in the past.

"How big of an event is this?" I asked her. If famous trainers attend this, I was surprised I'd never heard it more before. "This event is HUGE! Trainers from all around the world gather here in Sinnoh to attend every year. Floraroma Town is considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and even considered one of its wonders, so it makes sense that such a big event would be held here. They even hold one of these in Mauville City in the Hoenn region six months from now." Elena looked like she was about to explode into confetti.

"So if today is May 6th, and the convention is as big as you say it is, how do we plan to stay here? I doubt there are any rooms in the Center, or in any nearby hotels for that matter." I stated.

Elena raised her finger next to her head and winked. "See, here's the good thing: I have a friend who lives here in Floraroma Town, and he lets me stay over every time the convention is held, got it?"

"That's good for you, but what about me? I still need a place to stay, right?"

"Oh, you thought I would stay with you as a traveling companion longer?" She looked puzzled, and she noticed the kicked Lillipup expression which suddenly formed on my face. I had liked traveling with Elena, even after all the annoyances. She grinned and giggled, "Haha, I'm kidding. He has two guest rooms so there's room for you," she winked once more. I sighed.

"So then why are we in the Pokémon Center, other than to look crazy in front of all these other trainers of course."

"Easy: I'm here to participate in the Floraroma Tournament, and win that grand prize for sure."

…


	10. Lavish Living

_**Going to try something different by writing a longer chapter for Chapter 10, just to see if it fits better. If not, I'll stick to the shorter chapters. I also updated the description of the story, so it would make more sense in the long run.**_

…

"This is the place!" Elena beamed. I examined the building, and it was a very large house. From what I saw while walking there, it even had what looked to be a large pool with fountains in the back.

"Pretty big house," I noted. "You said a friend you met while training lives here?"

"Yep! He's a successful Pokémon breeder from Kalos! This is sort of like his vacation home that he visits from time to time. Anyway, let's head in. I think he's expecting me."

We walked up the cobblestone path way (which was lined with six Swanna fountains, three on each side), up the black and white marble steps (each engraved with the legendary Pokémon Zekrom and Reshiram on them), and up to the giant wooden door (okay, nothing special about that one), with a golden knocker (small, silver plated Pokéball logo on the bottom). I think this guy's goal was to shout "I'M RICH!" only by making people walk up to his door. Elena rang the doorbell, and I could hear the faint sound of the chime indoors. We waited a few seconds before the door was answered by a small old woman.

"Oh! Elena!" The old woman said. "It's good to see you again!" She had a Kalosian accent.

Elena chuckled. "Good to see you too Mrs. Maçon."

The old woman turned to me next. "Oh? Who's this now? Are you a friend of Elena's?"

"Yes, I'd like to think I am," I held out my hand, but instead I was pulled into a hug, and kissed on the cheek by the lady. I broke away and saw both the old woman and Elena laughing. "Ahaha, welcome! Welcome! What is your name?"

"Uh… My names Marcel," I replied with varying levels of uncomfortableness going throughout my body.

"Marcel! You're from Kalos too, hm?" The old woman asked.

"Unova actually. My mother is from Kalos…" I then remembered I still had to charge my phone to call her.

"Ah, Unova. Is big region, no?"

"Um…" Before I had time to respond, I heard another voice come from behind. "Grandma! Let them inside already! They're probably sick of waiting!" It also had a Kalosian accent, but it wasn't as noticeable. In fact, it probably sounded more Unovan than anything.

The old lady laughed and opened the door wider. "Come in, I'm sorry to keep you waiting!" We walked in, and I could already see how huge and lavish this house was. Marble floor, marble staircase leading up to a second and third floor, I could see an open kitchen across the huge living room, marble pillars in the corner of walls, giant flatscreen television in front of a huge couch, and to top it all off, a giant crystal chandelier dangling from the ceiling.

"Elena! Great to see you!" I looked up and saw somebody walking down from the top of the staircase, and halfway down he slid down the railing. _'Show off,'_ I thought. He walked up to the both of us, and I got a better look at him. He had a tall, yet skinny build. His face was slightly tanned, and he had amber eyes. His hair was wavy, styled back and permed, and it reached the middle of the back of his neck. Dumb haircut. He was probably a bit older than me.

He stood in front of Elena, examining her. "You've gotten taller I see, and you cut your hair shorter, as well as going back to your natural hair color. However, beautiful as always," He kissed her on the cheek and smiled, while Elena blushed. I rolled my eyes. I was already not liking this guy. He turned his attention to me.

"Hm. New face, traveling with Elena I presume. New boyfriend?" He asked her. I heard Elena scoff. "No, he's someone I met in Jubilife City, and he's heading up to Eterna City for a gym battle." Intrigue filled the guy's eyes.

"Ah, a Pokémon trainer then. Pokémon?" He asked me.

"Gligar…" I hastily responded. He seemed to be waiting for me to list other Pokémon before realizing that was it. "Just a Gligar then," he seemed to be disappointed. "Sad you don't have any other Pokémon, but when it evolves, at least you'll have a beautiful Gliscor at your side." I just stood there, still very uncomfortable.

"I can see you are nervous, uncomfortable, and annoyed at my presence, despite having only known me for a minute," he listed. He actually managed to capture that very accurately. "But these are feelings lots of people have when meeting me for the first time. They eventually come to like me however, either because I sell them a rare and exotic Pokémon, or because they fall in love with my charm. I like to imagine it's the latter."

I groaned at that last statement, and I heard a slight chuckle come from him. He quickly grabbed my hand, and kissed the back of it, as if I was some sort of mistress. I quickly pulled my hand away, and he just grinned. "Jay Maçon, pleasure."

…

 _Ding!_

My phone lit up as it reached enough battery life to automatically turn on. I was sitting on the edge of my queen sized bed in one of the many guest rooms. The sheets were silky smooth, probably made out of actual silk, and the pillows were as fluffy as an Altaria, probably actually made from Altaria fluff. My backpack was lying in the corner of the room by the television, and Dirt Wing's Pokéball lay on the bed side table next to where my phone was charging.

" _Gliiiii! Gliiiii! Gaaa-aar!"_ Dirt Wing was flying around the room with more than enough space, as the ceilings were very high. I set down my phone, allowing it to charge for longer before I tried calling my parents. I heard the door creak open.

"Hey, are you alright? Making yourself comfortable?" Elena's voice asked. I simply nodded, and laid back onto the bed. I basically felt myself melt into the sheets. She sat herself on the edge of the bed. "I can tell you don't like him," she stated. Before she could continue her statement I interrupted. "I wonder what he could have done to make me think that. It couldn't possibly be his overconfident nature, or high self esteem could it?" I criticized.

"Hey, he's not _all_ bad once you get to know him,"

"Perhaps it's him treating me like a Kalosian mistress?"

"Who knows? Maybe he likes you? I mean he is-"

"Or him making a very obvious flaunt of his wealth. That's probably-"

"I think if we were also millionaires, we'd make a show of our wealth too-"

"Maybe it's the dopey haircut. It looks really dumb." I sat up to face Elena.

Elena chuckled at that one. "You should see him when he goes out, always wearing this expensive black fedora,"

I groaned and laughed at the same time. I just pictured him walking down the streets of Lumiose City, black fedora on head, hair waving behind him. I chuckled at the thought.

" _Gaaaaar!"_ I felt something heavy fall on my head, and I was forced to the ground. Elena giggled, and I think so was Dirt Wing. _"Gar gar gar!"_

"I swear you're gonna give me brain damage if you keep landing on my head like that," I told the Gligar.

 _Ring Ring!_

Elena and I turned our attention to the door, which is where the bell sound seemed to be coming from.

"Guess lunch is ready," Elena determined. "We should go down and eat."

"I assume if I go down their, the lunch will consist of something to further tell me their rich, like an entire bowl of caviar?"

"Ew, who would eat an entire bowl of caviar?"

We made our way down down to the dining room, where I saw a large dining table, probably enough for twenty people. And there were only two people sitting at it, being Jay, and his grandmother. There was also another man next to the table who was unloading trays of food onto it.

"Table for twenty with only two people, _and_ a butler?" I whispered to Elena.

"Most of Jay's family is out of region, so they're the only ones here. Plus they like having dinner parties. As for the butler, that's Diego. He acts as the servant and chef in this house, along with his Gallade." She whispered back.

"Ah, Marcel, so glad you could join us for lunch!" Jay cried. Yes, cried, because if he spoke normally, he would be inaudible to me, despite sitting across from me at the table.

"I'm staying at your house, why wouldn't I join you for lunch?" I sarcastically retorted. I felt Elena kick me in the shin from under the table, since she was sitting next to me. Jay just laughed.

"I've taken the liberty of selecting your meals for today. Hopefully you find them to be more than satisfactory. Diego." Jay motioned Diego to lift the covers up off of the trays in front of us. In front of me was what looked to be different varieties of seafood, including cooked fish of unidentifiable species, some crab meat, and what I believed to be Clawitzer meat as well. There were some other different foods on my plate I couldn't identify. I looked over to Elena's plate and saw some pasta with mushrooms, chopped onion, parmesan cheese, and chopped onion. Despite crab being my weakness, I was slightly jealous of her dish.

"Enjoy your meals," Diego said as he bowed, and walked back into the kitchen.

I'm not going to lie, it was probably some of the best seafood I'd ever tasted. Everything tasted fresh, and had just the right amount of diversity in flavor. To top it all off, I tried juice made from a mix of fermented berries from a Shuckle for the first time, and it made my tongue tingle with the sweetness of the berries.

They even had food for our Pokémon, which some had to eat outside, as they were too big to be indoors (that was a surprise.)

"It was pretty good I guess," I said, trying to hide the fact I _LOVED_ that meal to Elena. She just looked at me with a flat expression. "Okay, you can't even hide it this time like you probably could with the flowers, you have to admit that meal was _fucking amazing._ "

"It was pretty good I guess," I repeated, just to taunt Elena. She rolled her eyes and playfully hit my arm.

"Your Gligar seems to like me quite a fair bit," I heard Jay's voice in the doorway. I turned to see him with Dirt Wing in his arms, and my Gligar with his tongue sticking out. Jay scratched the top of its head, and it let out a small sound of satisfaction. He then let Gligar glide to the ground, where it then waddled over to me. Jay casually walked over to where I was standing.

"I once managed to get ahold of a Gligar of different color variety you know. Managed to sell it for quite a high price," Jay boasted.

"I don't remember me asking." I coldly said. He looked slightly offended. He turned to Elena. "Is he always this rude?" Before she could respond, he turned back to me and said, "I just thought I'd let you know. I'm one of the most successful breeders in Kalos for a reason. I show dedication to my craft! I remember I spent almost six hours trying to find a Kingdra on my Pokémon near the coast of Ambrette Town, and instead I stumble upon an underwater cavern, in which the local coast guards inform me I had discovered a nest of Relicanth, Pokémon which cost a fortune to import from Hoenn. So I capture a few Relicanth for myself, and have them breed. I then sell their eggs to those who may want them in Kalos, each one going for a few thousand..."

Jay looked at me once more, and could easily tell I was uninterested. "Hm, but I suppose you don't care for that sort of thing. However, you'd probably care for this." He pulled out a white, sharp looking object. It was shaped like a tooth.

"What is it?" My voice sounded a little more interested than I wanted to make it sound like. Jay looked up at me and grinned. "This fine object is what's known as a Razor Fang." He looked over at Gligar. "Catch." Jay gently tossed the object towards my Gligar, who promptly caught it with one of its pincers. Jay seemed to be waiting for something, but his face showed disappointment when nothing seemed to happen. Dirt Wing and I exchanged glances, both very confused.

"Just as feared," Jay shrugged. "Your Gligar simply isn't mature enough yet."

" _Gli-gli!"_ That seemed to spark some anger in Dirt.

"Not mature enough?" I asked him. "What do you mean?"

Jay took back the Razor Fang from Dirt. "This Razor Fang is an evolutionary item for Gligar. When a Gligar reaches a certain point in its life and is then exposed to one, it will evolve into a Gliscor." He said calmly. Now some anger was sparked in me as well.

"So you were going to evolve my Pokémon without my consent just now!?" I yelled at him while walking closer. Elena had to get up and place a hand on my chest to keep me from getting too close.

"What? I thought I'd be doing you a favor. These Razor Fangs aren't common, and I was basically giving you one for free." He kept his calm attitude, but I sensed some nervousness creep over him as I attempted to get closer.

"My Pokémon are my business! You don't get to decide when they should evolve!" I spat, and Elena had to get in front of me to keep me from possibly hitting him.

" _Gli-gar gar!"_ I think he was agreeing.

"Marcel, that's enough! He only wanted to help!" Elena scolded, trying to hold me back. I looked at her like she had grown a second head. "You're defending this asshole?" I asked, exasperated. Before she could respond, Jay replied with, "Of course she's defending me over you! I've known her for three-"

"Shut up!" Elena commanded. I was surprised by the sudden outburst from her, and even Jay looked taken aback. "I'm not defending you," she pointed straight at Jay. "Or you!" She pointed her other arm at me. "Jay, you shouldn't have even considered trying to evolve Marcel's Pokémon without his consent. How would you feel if I threw a Fire Stone at Isabella right now? Huh?" Jay's cocky expression went away after she said that. She jerked her head toward me. "I know you don't like him, and I know what he did was wrong, but you can't hurt him at all!"

"Why shouldn't I?" I snapped. Immediately, a shadow overtook Elena, and she looked up behind me.

" _Or else you'll have me to answer to."_

I slowly turned behind me, only to be met with a seven foot Gallade looming over me. I quickly loosened myself from Elena to show I wasn't making any more advances toward Jay.

" _That's better. Any further advances like that towards Master Jay, and I will gladly teleport you to the middle of the Hoenn badlands."_

I gulped. _'Damn psychics,'_ I thought.

" _I heard that."_

I got scared, instantly realizing what I just did. Of course, psychics would also have the ability to mind read if they could talk to you using telepathy. _"Hmph."_ The Gallade promptly teleported out of the room after that.

"…That's why. That was Lance, Diego's Gallade, and Jay's personal bodyguard." Elena finished.

She removed her hands from my chest and sighed. "You two need to get along somehow. Why don't you just talk to each other? Find some common interests?" The tension in the air still loomed.

Jay looked at me and smiled slightly. I looked away, but even in my mind I realized I was just being stubborn. "…Fine. I'll attempt to talk to him…" I murmured to Elena. Her smile returned to her face. "Good Marcel!" She patted my head like I was a Herdier. "Jay, you'll do the same I assume?"

"Don't worry, soon he won't be able to resist my charm," he winked at me. My eyes were already starting to roll.

"Great!" Elena exclaimed. "I'll leave you two to socialize, and build a better friendship!" She excitedly hopped out of the room, leaving the two of us alone. There was some awkward silence before Jay finally broke it by speaking up. "So, you like video games?"

…

"You bitch!" Jay shrieked.

"Come here so I can hit you!" I cried back.

I heard the sound footsteps coming from the hallway, and the door suddenly bursting open. "I left you two alone to become friends! Not to fight- huh?" Elena was clearly confused. She swore she heard the sounds of us bickering.

Instead she was met with us on the edge of the bed, playing _Super Smash Bros._ on the television.

" _The winner is… Bowser!"_ the in game announcer… Announced. I threw my hands up in the air. "Not even killed once!" I cheered for myself. Jay let out a cry of frustration. "He's broken, simple as that." He tried to come up with an excuse to why he couldn't win.

Playing video games with Jay started off awkward, but actually became really fun. We played _Super Smash Bros._ and _Wii Sports Resort_ (the sword fighting mode), and it eventually turned into a really heated competition. Elena occasionally checked in on us from time to time, then left to return to her training her Pokémon outside. After a while, we started talking about our own lives, and what we wanted to do.

After the eye rolling and self bragging stories Jay had to tell, I got around to talking about my life before Sinnoh, and why I moved to Sinnoh. He didn't seem to take much interest in me challenging the gym circuit, and he said I could find much better work as a model.

"A model?" I asked, clearly confused.

"Why not? You've clearly got the face of one." He winked. That made me slightly uncomfortable.

Jay then told me about Pokémon that he personally owned, and I found out Isabella is his pet Vulpix who he refuses to evolve for reasons he didn't share. He also has an Ampharos named Anaïs, which was gifted to him when it was a Mareep, and a Fletchinder named Fabrice, which he uses to scout an area for specific Pokémon.

"How many battles have you had so far?" He asked me. I was about to respond when I realized: I hadn't even had my first battle yet.

"Oh… I haven't had one yet…" I scratched the back of my neck.

"What?" He seemed surprised. "I know you've only been a trainer for four days, but that's hard to believe! Most trainers have a battle every moment they can when they get a starter Pokémon!" He seemed to think about something for a moment. "I know what you can do. Rehearse against me!"

I cocked my head. "Rehearse against you?" An annoyed look came over him. " _Practice_ against me. Battling that is." He clarified.

I thought about his proposal for a moment. I could finally get my first battle with Dirt Wing to see how well we work together as partners in battle. "Alright sure, let's do it!"

…

Jay was standing across from me on the other side of the battlefield which was in his backyard, next to the large pool with fountains I saw earlier. Dirt Wing was standing next to me on my side of ring.

"Let me teach you a lesson in battling," Jay called. He threw a black and golden Pokéball into the air, and out came a Fletchinder.

" _Fletch-iiii!"_

I turned and looked down at my Gligar. "You ready Dirt?"

He nodded and replied, _"Gli-ga!"_

Dirt Wing leapt into the air, and started gliding in place to meet the Fletchinder.

"I'll let you get the first move!" Jay called.

"Gladly. Dirt Wing, use Poison Jab!"

Suddenly getting a burst of speed, Dirt Wing quickly glided towards the Fletchinder, pincers glowing purple.

"Dodge it and use Aerial Ace!"

The Fletchinder narrowly dodged the Poison Jab, and flew around the confused Gligar. It moved with such speed and velocity, I barely had a chance to order Dirt Wing to dodge before the attack hit the Gligar in the chest, knocking it a few feet down in the air.

" _Gliii!"_ It cried. I winced, as if I had taken the hit for him. "Quickly use Poison Jab again!"

 _"Gaaaar!"_ Dirt Wing charged once more to the bird, this time landing a hit on the opposing Pokémon.

"Use Razor Wind, Fabrice!"

" _Der, fletch!"_ it rapidly waved its wings, and several sharp bursts of wind repeatedly hit Dirt Wing on multiple parts of its body.

" _Gli-gli! Gli!"_ It crashed to the ground, staggering in pain. Fabrice flew closer to the ground to be on the same level.

"Use Poison Sting!" I ordered. Instead, Dirt Wing stirred up some sand on the ground, veiling itself within it. Jay smirked. "Fabrice, use gust to blow that sand away!"

The Fletchinder flapped its wings, creating a great wind gust. However, before the attack could hit, Gligar came bursting out of the miniature sand storm it stirred up, sand trailing behind it.

" _Fletch!?"_ Fabrice cried, confused. The Gligar elegantly spun around, shooting the sand that coated its body in multiple directions, most of which aimed toward Fabrice. Sand was caught in the bird's eyes, and it flailed to the ground as it tried to rub the sand out, however to no success.

" _Gligar-gar!"_ Dirt cried.

"Nice! Now use Poison Sting!" I commanded once more, but still I was met with a different response. Dirt Wing's pincers glowed purple once more, and it flew towards the Fletchinder, and knocked it into the ground, then threw it to the side using its powerful, poison enhanced pincers. It then released a barrage of sharp, poisonous needles from its mouth at Fabrice.

"Fabrice!" Jay cried out, seeming like he was about to run onto the battlefield to comfort it. Dirt Wing wasn't obeying my commands, but it was winning. I couldn't tell whether that was a good or bad thing.

"Dirt Wing-" before I could finish my command, Dirt had set itself on top of the poor Fletchinder, who was already barely conscious, and repeatedly started beating it further into the ground. That's when I noticed the spill of red appearing on the battlefield. Dirt Wing pinned it down using his tail, and placed a pincer over the Pokémon's neck, grip seemingly getting tighter. Any movement the Fletchinder may have been doing was slowly going away.

" _Gli…."_ The Gligar was growling down at the Pokémon under his claw. It then clicked in my mind that the Gligar wasn't just doing this for battle now, and I had to stop it now. I quickly pulled out it's Pokéball, but the beam of light which was supposed to return it into the containment, left the Pokémon unfazed. I was taken aback as to why it didn't return the Pokémon.

"Dirt Wing! Stop!" I called, and I started running towards it. Dirt Wing raised its free pincer to go in for the final blow, but before it could, I intervened by forcefully slamming myself into the bat scorpion.

" _Gaar!"_ It snarled, and lunged towards me, intent to harm in its eyes. Before it could latch onto me, I grabbed it by the wrists, and pinned it to the ground.

"What's gotten into you!?" I interrogated as it flailed in my grip. Jay ran up next to me, cradling the poor Fletchinder in his arms.

 _"Gar! Gar! Gliiiiiii!"_ It shrieked as it thrashed about, catching sight of the Fletchinder. I tried to return it again, but the Pokéball light wasn't working.

"What the hell is going on!?" I hit the Pokéball a few times on the ground, as if it would magically fix the problem. Jay returned Fabrice with no error.

"A Pokémon can resist returning to its ball if it isn't in a calm state of mind," Jay calmly said. "For example, Elena's Rhydon was once enraged after a wild Pokémon attacked it, and she couldn't return it until it calmed down. Your Gligar must have gotten mad because Fabrice kept hitting it."

I looked down at Dirt Wing, who had slowly stopped struggling. "If you hadn't stopped that battle, I'm afraid to imagine what would have happened to Fabrice…"

I tried to return Dirt Wing once more, and it finally worked. I felt the shift in my hands touching the ground as the Gligar underneath it disappeared. I stayed on the ground, staring at the stone battlefield. My eyes screwed shut, and I let out a quivering breath.

"I'm sorry Jay… I didn't- I…" I tried to speak, but the thoughts of my Pokémon killing Jay's haunted me. I felt a hand on my shoulder. "It's not your fault. It was your first battle, you two just don't work that well together as partners just yet, and-"

"No!" I angrily snapped. "I nearly let your Pokémon get k-kill…" My voice broke off. I felt Jay pat my pack as he kneeled down next to me. There was only silence after that.

…

Jay left Fabrice in the care of Diego's Gallade, which did its best to patch up it up with Heal Pulse and antibiotics for the poisoning it sustained. Jay also had to explain the situation to Elena when she came back from the Center when she picked up some supplies for her Pokémon.

I was laying under the silk covers of my bed, trying to avoid any interaction with Jay. I heard my door creak open, and I guessed it was probably Elena.

"Marcel?" I guessed correctly. I let out a small moan, letting her know the lump underneath the covers was me. I heard her footsteps approach the bed, and felt her sit on the edge of it. "You know Jay isn't mad right?"

I let out a sigh. "I know he's not, but given what happened, I feel guilty just looking at him…"

It was her turn to sigh. "I know how you feel. It was about the time when I first got my Rhydon, and I battled some boy with a Raticate. I h-hadn't realized the strength it actually possessed, and it was very unstable at controlling it's an-anger…" Elena trailed off after that.

"The Raticate was..?" I didn't complete the sentence, as I imagined she could complete for herself.

"Fortunately, it wasn't. It barely survived. The experience of helping a crying boy, bleeding Raticate in his arms, rush into the emergency room is an image you can't erase from your mind." She had a grave tone, which was unsettling, considering she was usually a cheery person. I lifted the covers off of my face, and saw Elena staring at me with a sad expression. It made me feel uneasy.

"How did you deal with it afterwards?" I asked with a shaky voice.

"I couldn't deal with it for a month after it had happened. I had spent everyday that week visiting the kid in the hospital. He stayed by his Raticate the entire time. He mostly refused to talk to me most of the time, which I didn't blame him for…"

"Did he ever get around to?"

"The first time I visited, he was basically screaming bloody murder at me in the waiting room. I broke down in the middle of the hospital as he screamed. The next two days, we only exchanged glances, and I kept offering to buy him stuff to try and make it up to him, but he constantly rejected. I finally managed to take him out for lunch on the fourth day, and he broke down as well, telling me things about his life, such as how the Raticate has been one of his only friends since moving to Sinnoh…" Her voice was starting to quiver. "The fifth day… The kid was gone. His Raticate wasn't there either. I had heard from Nurse Joy that they both checked out in the morning safe and sound, which I was relieved to hear… But I never could forgive myself for what I did…" A single tear streamed down her face. I lifted the covers completely off of my body, partly due to the fact it was getting hot, partly due to me wanting to show Elena I wasn't hiding anymore. I sat down next to her on the edge of the bed.

"So then what do I do about Dirt Wing? What if I c-can't control him again, and I'm unable to stop it? Wh-what if-" I was silenced by Elena pulling me into a hug. I was shocked for a few moments, but returned the hug. My face was leaning into her shoulder, and it felt as if I had melted into her arms. That hug was probably exactly what I needed in that moment to feel safe. I was glad to have a companion on my journey with me, as I probably wouldn't have known what to do, had my Gligar killed another trainers Pokémon in battle, and leaving me with nobody to speak to. I was glad I at least had somebody. I hugged Elena tighter and dug my head into her shoulder, some tears probably coming out. Her blue hoodie probably absorbed most of it anyway.

…

"So once again, I am sincerely sorry for Dirt Wing going ballistic on Frabrice like that…" I sheepishly told Jay as I rubbed the back of my neck. He cocked his head and grinned. "I've already told you, it wasn't your fault. There's no need to apologize," he smiled. Slight twinges of guilt still remained, but I had pushed past the problem of talking to Jay. I felt my main problem was going to be getting my Gligar and I on the same page. I held out my hand in apology, expecting him to shake it. Instead, he once again grabbed the back of my hand and kissed it. I wasn't so quick to draw back this time, figuring I at least owed him some of my dignity as payback. "Your hand is very soft," he remarked. I didn't know whether to take it as a compliment. "Um, thanks?" I hastily responded. He simply smirked and walked off.

Dinner was just as good as lunch, if not better. It had consisted of several different tropical meats from Hoenn mixed together in a bowl, as well as some guacamole and sour cream. I also tried the same meal Elena had when she had lunch, and that tasted great.

I didn't realize this when I started training, but I noticed the closest thing I had taken to a shower was in the lake in the Ravaged Path. I took a shower in the bathroom next to my guest room, and I was very confused. Taking a shower in somebody else's house was confusing enough, but now not only was there some hot and cold knobs, but now there were a few buttons to control where the water came from. It was one of those large square showers in which water came from the ceiling, as well as each wall. After much configuration (which was really just pressing random buttons until something worked), I finally got it to turn on, and at the right temperature. It felt very relaxing. By the time I got out, you could easily mistake the bathroom for a sauna, as I practically filled the hallway with steam when I opened the bathroom door to get out.

I was walking down the hallway to get to my room when I noticed Elena's door was open. I walked in, and I saw Elena under the covers watching a video. She didn't notice me until I spoke up. "Hey," I said. She looked up from her phone, and a slight smile came across her face.

"You always come into girls rooms without asking?" She chuckled.

"I thought I'd just stop by and thank you for helping me out earlier I guess…" I wasn't very good at thank-you's.

"All I did was do what any good friend should and try to comfort another friend when they need it," she smiled as she said that. The fact she actually called herself a friend of mine made me feel good inside.

"Just… Thanks." I softly said. We said our goodnights and I walked out of the room. I passed by Jay in the hallway, who flashed me a wink before disappearing into his room. The only other room I passed had Jay's grandmother in it, who was already soundly asleep. I finally got to my room where I stared down at my backpack. It was slightly open, and I saw the slight red glimmer of Dirt Wing's Pokéball. I let out a long sigh and started to crawl into bed. My phone was still on my bedside table, still plugged into the charger, despite being on one-hundred percent for a while. I was about to grab it before I hesitated. I knew I was purposely putting off calling my parents, afraid of what my mom might say. What if she made me come back home? I'm sure dad wouldn't let her but…

I unplugged my phone and turned away from it. _'Tomorrow.'_ I thought. I pressed a button on the remote that was laying on my bed, and the lights shut off. My thoughts started to wander. I recalled the events which happened on that day, and my eyes grew heavy thinking about it. I slowly drifted to sleep soon after.

As I expected, I found myself in that purple cloud world once more. I was in the same location where my last dream ended. I had found a tiny red orb there, but this time the orb was gone. Instead, in its place was an _Espeon._

…

 _ **Hopefully you guys liked this chapter! I tried doing something a bit different and going for a longer chapter than I would normally would. I also tried using different themes than in the rest of the chapters, so I hope that came off as good. You guys can let me know what you think! Thanks!**_


	11. Bond Training

I stared down at the Espeon, who was also staring back at me. We both stood there in silence before it finally spoke up.

" _Have you nothing to say?"_ The voice was calm, mid-pitched, and echoey. I gulped, kind of nervous to speak. "Um, h-hi?" I managed to choke out. The Espeon seemed to roll it's eyes. _"You do not recognize me I assume? Typical. I suppose not all humans can remember an event which happened all but three days ago as clearly as others."_

I continued standing there, just baffled at what was happening. "Th-three days ago? What do you…" I suddenly remembered Nathan's Espeon. "Moonshine?" I asked it.

" _Hm. There seems to be a great variation in the level of intelligence each human possesses. Some are as dense as a rock, and a select few can rival my trainer's intelligence…"_

"Are you actually real, or- or are you just a part of this bizarre dream I've been having!?"

" _Dream? This is no mere dream, human."_ He talked down to me, even though I literally talked down to it. _"I have placed you in what is known as a psychic lock_."

My mind started racing. I had heard the term of 'psychic lock' before, I just hadn't known where. "So you've been doing this to me? You've been creating this purple cloud world that I get sent to every time I sleep? Why!? Tell me what you did!" I demanded. The ground started to shake, and the ground below Moonshine began to rise. It kept rising, until the small purple feline was at my level, facing me. I was honestly intimidated.

" _A psychic lock,"_ he calmly started. _"Is when a Psychic Pokémon, such as myself, taps into the mind of a certain individual. They then cut a small portion of their powers, and place it in the mind of the individual. That is known as the psychic lock. Once the lock is placed, the psychic Pokémon can know what the afflicted individual is thinking, what the afflicted is doing, how the afflicted feels, and most importantly: where the afflicted is at all times, no matter the distance."_

I was left to comprehend what the Espeon had just told me. _"The afflicted can even be contacted by the Pokémon, using the dreamscape each human creates when they slumber."_

"S-so… There's a psychic lock placed on me right now? And at all times?"

" _Precisely."_

"Why are you… What do you want with me!?" I was angry, knowing my innermost thoughts could easily be tapped into by the little Pokémon.

The Espeon just closed its eyes. _"Look around you. This, 'world of purple clouds', as you call it. Does this seem like the ideal place to live? A place, where the laws of time and space are discarded completely, in favor of illogical ripples of gravity, physics, and any and all order?"_ Moonshine questioned. I looked around the area, and it wasn't a very pleasant place to be in. "Um, no? It doesn't seem very nice-"

" _Exactly!"_ Moonshine snapped, eyes also snapping open. I jumped back a little startled. He sighed. _"Having full control of the psychic lock, I can manipulate anything in this dreamscape. I let you wander in it for a few days, to let you see what it would feel like."_

"W-what it felt like? Why would you wanna…" I trailed off, unsure of how I would finish that statement. Moonshine stared deeply into my eyes, seeming to be thinking about something. _"Hm. Perhaps you are not the one. Only time will reveal such information to me."_ He leapt off of the elevated platform, and began to walk away from me. I stood there, before it clicked in my mind I should probably chase him. "Hey! Wait up!" I began running after the Espeon, but he kept getting faster and faster. The platform we were on was ever extending, and seemed to have no end. "Come back!" I called out. The Espeon glared back at me, and suddenly giant, thick vines shot up from the ground, starting to surround me. One after the other, vines shot up in front of me, keeping me from progressing forward. A vine shot up next to me, scraping my arm. "Shit!" I cried. I looked around, only to see I was surrounded in a forest of thick, immovable vines. I frantically looked around.

"Where- where are you!? What are you-"

" _Do not follow me! …Not yet. I'll come back for you in due time."_ I heard Moonshine's voice as if he were still next to me.The world around me started to fade, and I was soon encased in darkness.

I jerked up from bed, clutching the silky sheets close to my chest. Sweat dripped down my face. I wiped my forehead with my arm, only to wince at a sudden stinging sensation. I looked down at my left arm to see it scraped, and bleeding slightly. My face must have gone pale, as I felt a strong draining sensation in it. I shakily removed my covers, and stumbled into the bathroom, as if I were a drunk man after New Years.

I ran some cold water over the scrape, and washed it to be safe. The blood cleaned up rather easily, and I made some makeshift, half-assed bandages using toilet paper. When I was satisfied with my wrapping, I switched off the lights, and started to make my way back towards my room. I passed by each person's room once more, hearing some loud snoring coming from Elena's room. I had to stifle a laugh at that. I entered my room, and laid back down on the bed. I closed my eyes, attempting to sleep, but couldn't. I shifted and bent my body into multiple positions in an attempt to get comfortable. When I couldn't, I just threw off the covers and stared at the dark ceiling. I sighed and looked at the time on my phone. The brightness hit my face like a truck, and I quickly turned it down.

'4:21 AM'

I didn't even feel tired. My mind went frantic with thoughts of what had just happened to me. How would I explain such a thing to other people? They'd probably think I'm crazy. I groaned and got up from the bed and decided to walk around the mansion, not bothering to put on some extra clothes over my boxers and tank top undershirt. It's not like anybody could see me, as I was probably up the earliest. I'd honestly be more embarrassed if somebody saw my toilet paper bandages.

A cold air circulated throughout the house, making me wish I at least out on some pants. I walked up an down a series of hallways to entertain myself, and possibly make me tired. I didn't think that was happening anytime soon however. The rest of my body felt fully energized, however my mind screamed at me to go back to sleep. I took a seat in the living room, and the giant L-shaped couch felt amazing to sit in. I took a deep breath and tried to relax, and get my mind off of the 'dream'. I tried thinking of upcoming things, like the Floraroma Tournament Elena was going to compete in. I wondered what kind of people she would be facing. Perhaps a dragon tamer? People whose Pokémon mastered the art of Kung Fu? Or maybe even a girl who only uses Fearow? I thought up of many possibilities. I started having conversations with myself out loud, making me look like I was crazy. Nobody could see or hear me though, so I did it freely to appease my boredom. Some of the conversations included world ending scenarios, talking Pokémon, and just plain nonsense. I must have lost track of all time, because by the time I finished talking to myself, it was already light outside. I figured I should probably start heading back to my room, but I was interrupted by-

"Marcel?" I heard Jay's voice come into the living room.

"Uh, h-hi!" I nervously said. Jay fully came into the room, and I took note of what he was wearing. It wasn't what I would expect from him, being a millionaire and all. He was wearing what looked to be heavily dirt stained jeans, a white t-shirt, and a green apron with a Pokéball logo on it. He seemed to also examine what I was wearing, and grinned.

"You know if you always dress like that, it doesn't leave much-"

"-To the imagination? Yeah, Elena said the same thing just the other day," I interrupted. "I was just about to head back into my room and put some more clothes on."

Jay laughed. "I mean, you can stay like that. You wouldn't exactly hear any complaints from me." He winked. "Why are you up so early anyway?" He asked.

"I was woken by a bad dream at around four-thirty, and I've just been up since." I was hiding my arm from him in order to avoid more questions. "How about you?"

"Well," he started. "I usually get up early to tend to some of the Pokémon I'm raising. They're in the backyard if you want to come see them."

"I'll meet you back there, I'm gonna put on some clothes first," I replied, starting to get up.

Jay smiled. "I'll meet you there then."

I changed into a long sleeved shirt I had to cover up the scrape (which at this point was probably fine to leave unbandaged), and walked outside where I met Jay. The backyard was littered with different species of Pokémon, some I didn't recognize. Jay taught me that each Pokémon needed different methods of caring, which I knew to an extent, but the Pokémon he was raising apparently required very specific care. He had different brushes for each and every Pokémon, he gave them each a different variation of some nutrient drink he made himself, and he let them all roam the area by his home, some only in specific areas, others at specific times. He groomed each Pokémon every morning, which took him an hour to get through. It was about seven when we were on the last Pokémon. He was grooming a Luxio while wearing rubber gloves, and I was helping hold it down. Jay started asking me some questions.

"So Elena. How did you meet her? Specifically I mean. What happened?" He asked as he furiously tried grooming out the knots in the Luxio's fur, which slightly cackled after every brush.

"I, uh… I passed out in the middle of Jubilife City with poison in my blood, and she's the one who happened to carry me to the emergency room…" I sheepishly admitted. Jay chuckled. "Let me guess. Your Gligar bit you?"

"Yeah, actually. How did you-"

"I have experience with Gligars, and the same thing happened to me before. It happens to most Gligar trainers actually."

" _Luux!"_ The Luxio growled as it shot some sparks at Jay and I. "Hey!" Jay snapped. "It's not my fault you keep biting at your fur, which causes these knots in the first place! And now your fur is standing on end, meaning I have to brush it again!"

The Luxio sank. _"Luuux…"_ Jay humphed triumphantly, and continued to run the wire brush through its fur.

"How did you meet her?" I asked, kind of curious. I scratched the Luxio behind the ears, and it started purring. I smiled at that.

"We met three years ago in Hearthome City. She was there to challenge Mademoiselle Fantina I believe. I was visiting Sinnoh because I received an invitation to the Contest Spectacular. I also had to sell someone a Milotic to use in a beauty contest.. Elena had gone looking for Fantina in the contest hall, and we ran into each other. Quite literally. We started talking, and she seemed to take a liking towards me. I'd be lying if I didn't say the same for myself."

I wasn't sure exactly what caused it, but I suddenly had a sinking feeling in my chest. "We traveled together for a while, as I didn't have to return to Kalos for quite a long time. After a while, she… She asked me out, and we dated for about a year." Jay was brushing harder at the Luxio, and it looked up at me with a half wincing-half about- to-use-Discharge face. "We didn't really do much, and after a year of that, I had to call off the relationship. She took it rather well, which was good. I left back to Kalos soon after that. We still remained friends and in contact which was also good." He looked up at me. "Sorry, you only asked how we met, and I end up telling you an entire biography." His head sank back into the Luxio's fur.

"It's alright," I said. "So tell me about this festival here in Floraroma Town." I changed the subject. Jay's face seemed to brighten a bit.

"The Floraroma Pokémon Convention is a huge event held every year. Trainers from all over the world come just to attend. People battle, hang out, hold contests, eat delicious food, and all around just have a good time. The most anticipated parts however are the famous trainers that show up, as well as the tournaments they hold, the biggest one being the Gracidea Cup. That's the one Elena is participating in I believe. It's advised you have at least eight gym badges, no less than six. Elena has exactly six, so she qualifies."

Jay stopped brushing the Luxio and got up. I let go of the feline as well, and it walked off proudly. Jay and I started to walk back towards the mansion. "What kind of famous trainers show up?" I asked.

"They can vary from year to year. Last year, Champion Wallace and Hoenn's Elite Four hosted the convention. I think Champion Alder-"

"- _Former_ champion," I corrected.

"Right. Alder was there, and had a few exhibition battles with Sinnoh's Elite Four, Steven Stone was there signing autographs for his book, Palmer was teaching some of the younger trainers some battling techniques, and they even held a cook-off between the famous Siebold versus all three Striaton Brothers." Jay seemed to be having a good time recalling the events. I stood there in amazement. "Woah… Aside from Alder, I have no idea who anybody you just mentioned are…"

Jay's hand met his forehead in a face palm before he sighed. "Know what? Never mind. You'll just have to see it for yourself tomorrow." He seemed slightly annoyed. I shrugged, and we soon found ourselves back in the mansion.

The morning went by pretty uneventfully. Breakfast was good, both Jay and Elena hogged the bathrooms near my room, and I didn't know where any other bathroom was. I finally got to showering, and changed back into the clothes I was wearing previously, as I wasn't wearing them for very long before. I was sitting on the porch in the backyard, looking out at the fields of Pokémon. The Luxio from earlier was playing with what also looked to be a Luxio, only it had a huge, bright red and orange mane. I held my phone in my hands, twisting it in between my fingers. I scrolled through my contacts list, until I hovered over my moms name. I quickly scrolled back up until I was hovering over my dad's name. I didn't know who I wanted to call. It was probably smart if I called my dad first.

 _Ring ring._

The phone was pressed in between my shoulder and my ear as I pulled something out of my pocket.

 _Ring ring._

It was a while since I heard the monotone ringing of a cell phone up against my ear.

 _Ring ring._

I pulled out Dirt Wing's Pokéball. I'd expect my dad to want to see my Pokémon if he answered.

 _Ring ring._

It occurred to me that I haven't sent out my Gligar since the battle. Would it still be mad at me for stopping it? Would it continue right where it left off, or was it still conscious in the Pokéball?

 _Ring ring._

What if my dad didn't even pick up? It was getting to the second to last ring.

 _Ring ring._

I sighed. The only option left was to call my mom.

 _Ring ri-_

I cut off the call before it could send me to voicemail. I scrolled back down in my contact list to my mom's name. If anyone would answer almost immediately, it would be my mom.

 _Ring ring._

 _Ring ring._

 _Ring ring._

 _Ring ring._

 _Ring ring._

 _Ring ring._

 _Ring ring._

 _You have reached the voice-_

I cut off the voicemail, and sighed once more. It wasn't like my parents to not answer their phones.

I tried calling my dad again.

No answer.

I tried calling my dad again.

No answer.

I repeated this task about five times before giving up. I let my head drop, feeling like I was being ignored. It probably wasn't intentional, but it made me feel lonely, not having spoken to my parents in a few days. I looked down at the Pokéball in my hands, and sent out Dirt Wing. He appeared on the ground before me, and looked up at me with innocent eyes. My eyes probably looked dull and tired. We seemed to be locked into a staring contest with each other.

"So… What?" I started. "You talk first, or do I talk first?"

" _Gli."_ He pointed a pincer at me. I nodded firmly. "Okay then. Question: Are you aware of what happens in the outside world when you're in your Pokéball?" It was his turn to nod. "Alright, I assume you heard the whole thing with Elena and the Raticate story, right? You know I don't want you going crazy in battle like that."

The Gligar nodded once more. _"Gar-gli-gah!"_ He seemed to hit his chest with a pincer. _"Gligar, gli-ga! Gar-gli!"_

It was a weird sensation, but I felt something between Dirt Wing and I. I usually can't understand what he says, but now it was as if I could understand exactly what he said.

"I…" I was a bit at a loss for words when I understood it completely. Regaining focus, I spoke to it about the matter at hand. "I now know you were a fierce battler when you were a wild Pokémon. I get that you still have your wild instincts, but now you're a trained Pokémon. You need to know your own limits in battle, and can't lash out on every Pokémon that attacks you."

" _Gar! Gli-Gligar!"_

"You may not like it now, but you will come to terms with it eventually. We are going to be partners, now until the end! I will do whatever it takes to get you to respect me as a trainer, and I will do my best to respect you as a Pokémon. We need to work as a team!"

Dirt Wing seemed to hesitate in saying anything, before a confident look fired up in its eyes. _"Gligar! Glah!"_

I smiled at that. It was at that moment I understood what people meant when they said their hearts were one with their Pokémon. The bridge between Dirt Wing and I was built, and we could communicate flawlessly now. "Come on," I said, remembering Dawn's words. "Let's go kick some ass."

…

I told Jay and Elena I would be back by dinner, and I set out towards the outskirts of Floraroma Town. I stepped into the flowery plain, and began my hunt for wild Pokémon. We were going to do some serious training.

"Dirt Wing, use Poison Sting!"

" _Gligaaaaaa!"_

He shot multiple poisonous needles from his tail, and each one hit the wild Beautifly.

" _Beaaaaaaa!"_ It screeched as it fainted. "Yes!" I cheered. "High five!" Dirt Wing used its tail to bounce up to my level, and his pincer slapped my hand. We continued to train against some of the wild Pokémon, seeming to work together better and better after each battle.

"Don't let that Drifloon get away!"

" _Gaaar!"_

Dirt Wing's fangs started to glow, and it bit down on the Drifloon. _"Flooooooon!"_ It tried to get away, but to no avail. It soon collapsed on the ground, and my Dirt Wing flew back to me. I quickly re-scanned him with my Pokédex, and checked his known moves.

"You learned Bite! That's awesome!" We both stuck our fists (in his case pincers) in the air. We must have defeated all the wild in the area, as we had trouble finding anymore after the Drifloon. So the only logical option was to start challenging trainers.

"Comet, use Quick Attack!" The opposing trainer shouted. "Dirt Wing, stand your ground and hit it with a Poison Jab!"

The Pidgeotto soared straight into Dirt, knocking him back a little, but he stood his ground like ordered, and Comet seemed surprised he was still standing. Quickly, the Gligar reeled back to hit the bird with a powerful Poison Jab, which connected perfectly.

" _Pidgoooooooo!"_ Comet cried as he was sent flying. "Comet!" His trainer shrieked, and quickly pulled out its Pokéball. "Return! Yet-to-be-named Chinchou, I choose you!" The trainer threw what looked to be a Pokéball with a blue wave pattern to it, and out popped a Pokémon I had never seen before. I pulled out my Pokédex, and scanned it to get a bit more information.

' _Chinchou, the Angler Pokémon. Chinchou's two antennas are filled with cells that generate strong electricity. This Pokémon's cells create so much electrical power, it even makes itself tingle slightly.'_

"An Electric type against a ground type?" I asked myself, unaware of its secondary typing. It was probably a coincidence when I heard the trainer seemingly reply, "Don't think anything about Chinchou yet! We have yet to test your power buddy! Use Hydro Pump!"

'Shit, _Hydro Pump!?"_ I thought, and frantically waved my arms at Dirt. "Quickly, get out of there!" I shouted.

" _Chooooooouuuuuu!"_ A giant spout of water emerged from the glowing fish's mouth, and before Dirt could react, he was blasted off his feet, and slammed into a nearby tree.

"Dirt Wing!" I cried, running up to the Gligar.

" _Gli….."_ It softly whispered as I approached. I kneeled down next to him and pulled out his Pokéball, returning it. "You deserve a rest after today…" I looked up at the trainer approaching me, who seemed to be older than I was. He smiled and outstretched his arm at me. I took his hand, and he helped me up.

"That was a pretty good battle, I have to say. Your Gligar's got some pretty good defensive strategy." He complimented.

"Thanks, we've been doing some training today." I threw my bag to the ground, and started digging around until I found some dollar bills. I counted it, and handed a portion to the other trainer. I didn't have much saved up to begin with, so losing this battle wasn't doing me any favors. The trainer took the money and put it into his wallet. I should probably get one of those too, rather than stuffing money into my bag.

"Maybe we'll see each other tomorrow at the Floraroma Convention," he said, putting his wallet into his pocket. I shrugged. "Who knows, maybe we will."

There wasn't much introduction, if any at all, and we parted ways right after that. I noticed the sun starting to set, and started walking towards the general direction Jay's mansion was located.

…

The trip took a bit longer than I expected, mainly because I took a detour to the Pokémon Center, and ultimately got lost in the town. I found my way back however, and it was just after dinner time. I walked right into the mansion, as the door was unlocked. Probably not a good thing to let happen, given the house. Nobody was inside as far as I could tell.

"Elena? Jay? You in here?" I called out, only to be met with a faint echo. I called out a few more times, before deciding to head upstairs. I walked to my room, and all the rooms before it seemed to be empty. "Guys!?"

After setting down my backpack, I walked back downstairs, and headed out to the backyard. I stood on the porch, leaning on the railing. _'Where are you guys?'_ I thought to myself.

"Are you looking for Master Jay and Elena?" I heard a deep voice from behind. I quickly spun around, and was met with Diego. I let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah I am… Any idea where they might have gone?" I asked him.

"They are currently in Mauville City."

I nearly choked on my own spit at that statement. "What!? Mauville City? How did-"

"Master Jay was called there on some 'urgent business' and Elena wanted to join him. Lance teleported them just this afternoon." He calmly stated. His greased black hair was shining under the light he was standing under.

"That... Makes sense I suppose… Hey wait a minute, isn't Mauville City near-"

"The Hoenn badlands? Yes, yes it is."

I remembered what Lance had said to me, threatening to teleport me there. I then just realized what he had said. "Wait, how did-"

"I was born with some slight psychic ability. I can predict the upcoming thoughts of those within close proximity."

I remained where I was for a moment. Why was I having encounters with so many psychic-like things? I quickly ejected the thought so that Diego wouldn't pick up on it.

"When will Elena and Jay be back?" I quickly asked.

"They'll be back in maybe an hour or two. Perhaps it's best that you head on to sleep. A big day tomorrow. You get to experience the Floraroma Convention for the first time."

I smiled at the thought. "Yeah you're right. Tomorrow's gonna be exciting, so I might as well sleep now." Diego chuckled, and started to leave. Suddenly a thought came over my mind.

"Wait, Diego!" He turned around, and awaited my question. "How's… How's the Fletchinder? Fabrice?"

Diego smiled. "She's doing just fine. Her wing was a little damaged from crashing into the ground, so it might be a week until she flies again." I felt some twinges of guilt come over me. "However, once the poison was flushed out of her system, her mood lifted and she was energetic once more." He reassured. I looked down and sighed.

"Thanks Diego…"

He smiled and finally marched off. I stayed on the porch for a little while longer before heading inside. I got changed, took a shower, and headed up to my room. I crawled into bed, very tired. The day was exhausting with all the training Dirt Wing and I did. I glanced over at the Pokéball on the dresser and smiled.

"You were awesome today…" I yawned. It was probably just me being tired, but I swore I saw the Pokéball shake. I smiled, and I felt my eyes getting heavy. My mind started drifting from place to place. I thought about my parents, I thought about the Espeon, I thought about Mauville City, I thought about Elena, and the final thought I could clearly remember was my Gligar. I soon soundly slept with a snore.

This time, there was no purple cloud world, or any vine imprisonment, or any Espeon. I had a normal dream about talking Pokémon at a festival. The term normal was up for debate, but it was a traditional dream. I was glad I could finally get a good nights sleep.

...


	12. Convention Day 1: Nikki

_**Beware: Very long chapter ahead.**_

…

I felt some sort of weight on top of me.

"Wake up!"

I jerked awake, and looked around for a few moments, clearly dazed by the suddenness. I then saw Elena kneeling on top of my legs. I tilted my head back and sighed.

"Good morning to you too." I let my head sink back into the pillow and closed my eyes. Her weight shifted up my body and I felt a light slap on my cheeks. "Don't go back to sleep. If I don't get any, you shouldn't have any either. Plus, we need to be leaving soon."

"Nngh," I didn't feel like getting up. "Five more minutes…"

Elena didn't say anything else, but instead I heard the popping sound of a Pokéball. Suddenly, I was being pulled out of bed by two stubby, blue hands. "Wha- Oh come on, you're gonna get Torrent out on me?"

" _Azu!"_ I was being held over the blue Pokémon's body. "Really?" I asked, and Elena just giggled.

I saw Torrent become engulfed in a red light, and I soon hit the ground hard after he was fully returned. Elena giggled again, and I groaned in pain. "Alright, alright, I'm up! Jeez…"

Elena at least had the decency to help me up. "Come downstairs and eat breakfast. We need to get ready soon and leave to the convention!"

That's when it clicked in my mind. "Oh you're right! I almost forgot!" I smacked my forehead.

I put on some clothes, and headed downstairs. Jay was already at the dinner table, only he was asleep with half a piece of toast in his hand. He was also snoring very loudly.

"What time did you guys get back?" I questioned as I snagged a piece of toast from the giant platter.

"2 AM. The trainer we were helping was being a stubborn little shit." She was pouring some coffee as she said that.

"Why were you even there to begin with?"

"Some trainer Jay sold a Pokémon to about a month ago needed help with it. It was a Heracross, and it was feeling sick because it was too reliant on Jay's care," She took a sip of her coffee. "Anyway, it all ended with Jay having to take the Heracross back, because the trainer clearly didn't know how to raise one."

"Oh. Well, that's definitely a tale I guess," I bit into some more toast, and picked up a hard boiled egg as well. "You excited for your tournament?" I asked, changing the subject. Elena sat down next to me.

"Yes!" She exclaimed. "I've been preparing a whole bunch of strategies with all my Pokémon! I signed up for this tournament immediately after I got my sixth gym badge, and I've basically memorized which battlefield I need to go to, what time it takes place, and the name of the person I'm versing!" She was throwing her hands all over the place as she told me this. I couldn't help but laugh at how excited she was. I looked over at Jay who was still passed out across the table. I ripped off a small piece of my toast and threw it in his direction. It hit him right on the cheek, and he quickly shot up with a snort.

"Nnghuh?" He looked straight at me, glared, and threw the entire toast he had in his hand at me. It hit me right in the face, and I could feel some jelly on my cheek. Elena laughed before taking the liberty of wiping the jelly off my face with a napkin.

"Thanks," I said, before hearing a thud. I looked back at Jay, who slammed his head back into the table.

" _Ma puce,_ you're not very fond of me as it is. I guarantee if you wake me up once more, you will see a whole new side of me you wish you never disturbed." Jay scowled at me, and it was almost enough for me to take that threat seriously. Jay wrapped his arms around his head, and I heard a faint snore.

"Let him sleep for now. He got the least sleep as he had to tend to the Heracross until about four." Elena stated, giving me a look that told me to put the piece of toast I was about to throw down.

"Alright, then." I complied, and finished off my toast and hard boiled egg. We left Jay to sleep on the table, and retreated back to our rooms. We both freshened ourselves up, preparing for the long day ahead of us.

"How big is the place?" I asked from the other side of Elena's closed door.

"It's probably the size of a really big stadium," she called back. "There are multiple small battlefields on the outer perimeter of the building, and three larger, center of attention battlefields near the center. That's where my tournament is being held."

"Good luck on that by the way. I'm sure you'll do great!" I assured, trying to be motivational. A small giggle came from the other side. "Thanks Marcel."

…

Jay's grandma had taken pictures of Elena and her Pokémon before we were allowed to leave. Diego was driving us to the convention, Elena sat in the front, meanwhile a very sleepy Jay sat next to me. Slept next to me. Slept on me.

I saw Elena grin at me as we both looked into the front mirror. She could easily spot my uncomfortableness as Jay was nestled on my shoulder, sleeping soundly. Trying to shake him off was also useless, as doing so only seemed to make him nestle closer.

"How much longer until we get there?" I asked, wanting this car ride to end as soon as possible.

"Only another ten minutes," Diego replied, focusing on the road. "Which lot do I need to drop you off at Elena?"

"Lot C. My preparation room is near that entrance."

The car fell silent after that. The only thing that could be heard was Jay's faint snoring. I awkwardly pulled out my phone, just so that I had something to do for the remainder of the car ride. The next time I looked up, we were in a parking lot next to a huge stadium looking building.z

"We've arrived," Diego said in a calm tone. "Wake up Master Jay, will you?"

I shook Jay a few times, but he showed no signs of waking up. "Excuse me your royal highness, but your beauty sleep will have to wait." I sarcastically said as I continued to shake him.

"Nnghshutthefuckuphhh…" He groggily groaned, and slowly got up. He glared at me with the face of 'I hate everything and you especially.' I just gave him the brightest smile I could. He looked around as he stepped out of the car. "Oh… We're here…" He sounded very dull.

"At least pretend you're excited," Elena placed her hands on her hips.

"I am, I am... It's just…" He didn't finish that statement as he cut himself off with a yawn. "I'm fine, trust me…"

"Will you be leaving now?" Diego asked. Elena nodded. "You can go if you want to. Why not stay around for the convention though?" She asked, and Diego chuckled. "I wish I had time for such activities today, but I am far too busy. Perhaps tomorrow." Elena seemed to frown, feeling bad for Diego. "Aw… Well, alright then. The convention starts to close at eight, so start driving back at around that time." Diego nodded. "Very well. And, I wish you the best of luck in the tournament Elena." Elena smiled. "Thank you Diego," she turned to Jay and I. "Let's head inside then, shall we?"

The inside of that stadium was _huge._ It seemed to be an ever expanding building, littered with hundreds- probably thousands of people. There were multiple small battlefields in certain sections of the building, and trainers battling in them. Almost every single Pokémon I saw was one I hadn't seen before. A wizard fox, a Pokémon with fire shooting out of its back, some sort of blue snake, a purple blob dragon, and a tiny beige and green owl with a bow tie. Jay watched me examine all the Pokémon, and laughed.

"I've raised these Pokémon before you know. I could get you one if you really wanted, and with my skill set, they're bound to become only the best." Jay stated, and I rolled me eyes.

"I don't want your help when it comes to my team. My team is going to be something I choose throughout my journey, got it?" I shot back. It sounded a little more rude than I had intended. Jay simply shrugged. "Whatever you say. You trainers have a weird mind set."

"If you two are done, the preparation room is this way!" Elena called. She was slightly ahead of us, and we both ran to follow her. She stopped when she reached a doorway, and above it read 'Preparation Room C'. Just past it seemed to be a large looking room. "Come on! Let's head inside!" She ran into the room, while Jay and I just walked. The room was strangely empty. I started to hear a loud noise as we got further into the room.

"What's that noise?" I asked, trying to listen. "That's the audience cheering. We're right next to one of the center battlefields, and a match is going on right now." Jay said helpfully.

"Oh, okay," I turned to Elena. "So what are the rules of this tournament?"

Elena seemed glad I asked the question. "It starts off as one versus one Pokémon battle. As the tournament progresses, another Pokémon is added, until it is a six on six battle."

I stood there, puzzled for a moment. "Don't you only have four Pokémon?"

"Well, I don't _necessarily_ have to use six Pokémon. My four just have to outlast the six opponents." She filled in. I think that made sense. She looked up at a clock on the wall. "My first battle is in ten minutes." She pointed two fingers at both Jay and I. "You two are gonna be my cheerleaders!"

We both blinked. In unison, we both remarked, "Cheerleaders?"

She laughed. "You don't literally have to be cheerleaders with pompoms and everything, just come with me when the battle starts so that you two can provide moral support!" Her arms were practically flying all over the room as she spoke. She turned on her heel to face away from us, and pulled out all four of her Pokéballs. After throwing them on the ground one at a time, all four of her Pokémon were lined up. Surprisingly, Audrey the Snorlax managed to fit inside the room.

"Listen up team!" Elena shouted, and placed her hands behind her back, beginning to walk back and forth, similar to a drill sergeant. "You four are going to have to hold your own against some of the toughest trainers in Sinnoh!"

The Rhydon and Azumarill looked at each other with determination in their eyes, Audrey yawned, and the Yanma's expression didn't change."

"Over the past month, we've been working on strategies to overcome all obstacles in our way! Now that the day of the big tournament is here, you need to put all that training to good use so that we can win!" She shook her fist in the air, and some of the Pokémon cheered.

" _Rhyyahhhhh!"_

" _Rill!"_

" _Lahx…"_

"Mortar! Are you gonna let some type advantage water or grass type get the better of you?"

" _Drahn!"_ It cried, and furiously shook it's head.

"Torrent! If you're met with a giant foe like a Steelix, you don't let it intimidate you! You use your Huge Power to take it down!"

" _Azuuum!"_ It raised its stubby arms in the air.

"Audrey! Be the quite literal wall you are!"

" _Laaax!"_ It seemed to have more energy, and it hit its belly with one paw.

"And Yanma! Use your speed to your advantage! Tire out the opponents, and attack as much as possible!"

" _Yaan-ma-a-a!"_

Elena crossed her arms, and a grin appeared on her face. She seemed pleased with her little pep talk. "Now let's win this tournament!" She shouted, jumping up in the air.

" _LAAAAAX!"_

" _RHYDRAAH!"_

" _Yanmaaaaa-aaaa!"_

" _Azumar-azu!"_

…

"Starshine, use Aerial Ace!"

The trainer with long blonde bangs got the first move after a coin toss. His Staraptor charged with lightning fast speed towards Torrent.

"Brace yourself and use Aqua Tail!" Elena shouted.

" _Raapt!"_

" _Zumar!"_

The Staraptor collided with Torrent, but Torrent managed to hit it in the wing with Aqua Tail. The giant bird crashed into the ground, but quickly got up, trying to brush off the hit.

"Use Rollout!"

Torrent started to roll slowly, but almost instantaneously picked up speed, and was rolling straight for the Staraptor.

"Quickly, fly out of the way Starshine!"

The Staraptor flapped a few times, but quickly fell to the ground after its left wing gave out. Torrent rammed right into Starshine, sending it back a few feet. He continued to roll all around the battlefield, almost uncontrollably. The audience burst into cheers at the big hit, and Jay stood up next to me.

"Go Elena! You have this battle in the bag!" I could barely hear him because the arena was so loud, but I joined in on the cheering as well.

The Staraptor slowly got up, and hopped on one claw as it got up, then readjusted itself and let out a fierce screech. " _Staaaaaaaar!"_

The opposing trainer smiled. "Starshine, use Roost!"

The Staraptor closed its eyes and seemed to start glowing. It's twitching wing returned to normal, and any cuts it had on its body were healed almost instantly. It opened its eyes, now looking more energized.

Torrent continued rolling around the battlefield at great speed, and headed in the direction of Starshine once more.

"Stop the Rollout attack with Air Cutter!"

The Staraptor quickly flew into the air, dodging the speeding Azumarill, and flapped its wings, causing slashes of wind to emerge. With a dozen or so crashes, the Air Cutter hit the ground around torrent. The final three hit the blue blur directly, causing Torrent to roll out of control, and into a wall very close to us.

 _CRASH!_

I jumped from my seat, startled at how close the impact was. I could see Elena grit her teeth when Torrent didn't get up.

"Come on Torrent! Don't let me down on the first round! Get up!" She pumped a fist in the air trying to motivate the unmoving Pokémon. The referee with a red afro took a moment to examine Azumarill, before making his decision. Both Jay and I sighed simultaneously.

"Azumarill is unable to battle! Staraptor- huh?" A look of confusion came over him, and he scratched the back of his neck. Torrent shakily pushed itself up off the ground, and firmly stomped both feet on the ground. Elena grinned and laughed almost manically. "Hahaha! Yes Torrent!" She jumped up and down.

" _MARIIILLL!"_ A fierce shrill came out of the water type, and a wide smile formed on the referee's face. "Yowza! Miraculously, Azumarill is still able to fight! The battle continues!" He yelled into the microphone, and the audience went absolutely wild. The opposing trainer looked pissed, and he stomped his foot.

"Dammit! Starshine, wrap this battle up with Brave Bird!" He punched the air, to add emphasis to his order. The giant bird did a loop-de-loop in the air, emitting blue fire from its body.

" _RAPTOR!"_ It shrieked, and the blue fire surrounding its body turned orange as it picked up a huge burst of speed into the direction of Torrent.

A panicked look came over Elena. "Quickly, Torrent-"

 _"Azuum-marill-zuuuuuuu!"_ The Azumarill started running, also getting a huge burst of speed in the process. A bright white streak followed Torrent as it ran faster and faster, until it was in the path of the Staraptor. The orange flaming Staraptor charged head first towards Torrent, and the white streaked speeding Azumarill dashed into Starshine.

 _ **BOOOOM!**_

They both collided with such impact, dust and the debris of the battlefield was sent all over the arena, and the attack could be felt by the spectators, as if they were hit. The entire arena erupted into more cheers.

"It seems Staraptor's Brave Bird collided with Azumarill's Double Edge! Both very powerful attacks, both of which also damage the user!" The referee was practically standing on his chair. "But which one of the two took the most damage?"

The dust around the battlefield settled, and the figure of both Torrent and Starshine appeared. They were both covered in cuts and bruises, and were both panting heavily. It looked like they would give out at any second, it was just a matter of who gives out first. The tension in the arena was high, and most of the crowd fell silent, awaiting to see what happened.

Finally, the Staraptor fell.

…

 _Munch, munch, munch._

We were chowing down on a Johtoan meal a some trainer bought us.

"Mmm- this is really good!" I exclaimed, swallowing some dumplings. I stabbed at another dumping with my fork, meanwhile Jay and Elena used the more graceful chopsticks. Being raised in Unova, chopsticks were always confusing to me.

"I- I hope you like it!" The brown haired trainer who bought us the meal stammered. He was a little on the young side, but a Magmortar stood by his side. Impressive.

"It's great, thank you!" Elena flashed him a smile, and he laughed nervously, pushing his glasses up back on the bride of his nose. He gave off a little bow, and quickly walked a few feet away, but I still noticed him observing us.

"You've been getting a lot of attention after your battle with the Staraptor. I think Torrent is famous in this stadium now!" Jay joked, picking up a piece of spicy sushi. He wasn't exactly wrong though. The kid who bought us lunch is the seventeenth person who greeted Elena, complimented her on the battle, and tried to strike up a conversation. Elena certainly didn't mind the attention, but Jay tried to warn them off with his egotistical personality by randomly butting into the conversations.

"I guess a lot of people just liked the battle. It was probably fun to watch. I mean, Torrent learned Double Edge which was great! It won me the fight!" She said excitedly. She still seemed to be hyper after her victory.

"Given the fact everyone who approached you is a guy, maybe they just think you're hot?" Jay said, grinning. Elena flung some lo-main at his face, which he didn't appreciate.

Suddenly, something jumped onto the table. I turned to face it, and saw a two-tailed purple feline. An Espeon. I quickly scrambled back in my seat, and the Espeon stared at me.

"M-Moonshine!?" I barely choked out. It cocked it's head, and stared at me with a confused look.

" _Mrrp?"_ It purred. It then snatched up all of Jay's sushi, and skittered off the table, running away fast.

"H-hey! Come back here with my food you dirty little-"

"I'm so sorry!" A female voice cried. Jay quickly swiveled around, examining the short girl that now stood in front of him. Her long hair draped down to her waist, and it was a fading red color.

"I'm really s-sorry about Katie! She got out of her Pokéball, and she's been run-running away, and been stealing people's food, and she stole your food and you probably h-ha-hate me, and, and…" She was very clearly flustered, and looked like she was going to burst into tears.

"Hey, hey! Calm down!" Elena placed her hands on the girl's shoulders. "It's okay! We can get more food!" She laughed, trying to make her feel better. She let out a sniffle. "I'm sorry, she's been very dis-disobedient lately and…" She trailed off.

"Why don't you just return it then?" Elena questioned, placing a finger on her chin.

"I can't g-get close enough to it a-and, and now I think she hates me be-because I-I yelled at her!" She practically wailed. Elena sighed, and Jay started rubbing his temples. Now he knew how it felt.

"Okay, listen," Jay spoke up. "If you just calm down and stop speaking so loudly, I'll help you find your damn Espeon, and even teach you how to make it listen to you, got it?" Jay said, clearly annoyed with this girl. Elena hit him on the arm, but he didn't seem to notice. The girl sniffled a few times before softly speaking. "You- you will?"

"Yes. I will. Now, come with me, and I'll help you, okay?" He sounded a little more sincere this time.

"Th-thank you!" She was practically praising Jay. "M-my names Ni-Nikki by the way!"

Jay outstretched his hand. "Jay Maçon. Come on, let's go." He walked off with Nikki. Elena and I were just sitting there, just processing what happened.

"… So Moonshine?" She raised an eyebrow as she asked this. I looked at myself and realized I was still a few feet away from the table. I quickly scooted closer and readjusted myself. She still awaited my answer.

"Oh, um… I met an Espeon back in Jubilife named Moonshine. They just looked similar I guess…"

Elena continued to examine me, before deeming my answer worthy. "Hm. Okay then. But I swear if I find illegal alcohol in your bag-"

"No illegal alcohol I assure you."

"Boo. That's disappointing."

"You drink?"

"Only with family at parties. Or if nobody can find out." She let out a small giggle. I was a little confused.

"How… How old are you?" I realized I never asked, despite traveling with her for four days. Is it rude to ask a girl her age?

"I'm fifteen. Sixteen next month."

I was surprised to say the least. "I thought you were, like fourteen or something…"

"No idea wether I should take that as an insult or a compliment, so I'll count it as both, and they cancel each other out."

We finished up the rest of our food, and walked around the convention some more, exploring the various tents set up.

…

"Katie! Katie! P-please come back!" Nikki was basically shouting at the top of her lungs. She began to wonder if she would ever see her Pokémon again. Suddenly, as if all her prayers were answered by whatever being is up there, she spotted the rather handsome Kalosian in the crowd of people, stroking an Espeon in his arms. She ran up to the both of them, trapping them in a hug trap.

"Oh Katie! Please don't run off like that again! You're sister was so worried!"

" _Esprrrr!"_ It flailed and struggled to get out of the tight grip of its trainer. Jay was also trapped in this hug.

"Get… Off of me!" He basically had to push her off of him, an annoyed look forming over his face. "I-I'm sorry! I'm just really gl-glad she's back, reunited with her sister!" She profusely apologized.

"Your Espeon has a sister?" Jay blinked. Still hugging the Espeon close, she nodded. "Y-yeah! Here, look!" She dug through her pocket, and fished out a Pokéball. She pressed the button, and out popped a Flareon.

" _Flaaar!"_ The Flareon looked up and spotted the Espeon in her trainers hands. _"Fla-ree! Eon!"_ The Espeon's ears dropped down, and a guilty look overcame it. _"Mrrrrrr…"_

"This is S-Sadie! She's Katie's o-older sister! She's like the res-responsible older sister, and Katie is the rebellious y-younger si-sister!"

Jay's annoyed face was washed away, and he looked up at Nikki, examining her closer. She piqued his interest. Her fading red hair was tangled and messy, and she looked like she hadn't gotten much sleep as evident by her eye bags. Her clothes consisted of ripped, dirt stained light blue jeans, a dark gray, shoulder-less, knit sweater, and one of her bra straps were visible. She returned both of her Pokémon with a very flustered look on her face, nearly dropping Sadie's. Jay placed an arm over Nikki, and he turned her to an open area in the giant stadium.

"Come with me this way. I'll teach you how to train your Espeon to be more obedient, okay?" He flashed her a smile, and she couldn't hide her blush.

"How… How do y-you know it will work?" She asked, her face now flushed red. Jay took her hand, bringing it close to his lips. "I'm sorry for my rude behavior earlier. Let me re-introduce myself. I'm Jay Maçon of the Kalos region, and am a very successful Pokémon breeder. Now to answer your question: I've raised many Espeon in the past, and I'm an expert when it comes to Pokémon obedience." He kissed the back of her hand, and stared at her with his deep amber eyes. Nikki looked like she was going to burst into fireworks, and let out a nervous laugh. "Now… Shall we go train?"

…

The rest of that day was spent with Elena. We visited a multitude of tents where they hosted games, including a game where we threw baseballs at targets which popped in and out at random. The both of us made a team effort to hit at least fifty targets in one minute, in order to win a life sized stuffed Lapras, which we could both lay on if we wanted to. It took nineteen tries, and fifty-seven dollars down the drain, but we finally managed to win it. The only problem was trying to carry it around.

"Just push it from the tail!"

"Pull the front fins!"

We eventually gave up, and just set it up in a corner where we both laid on it. It was very soft, and I felt myself sinking into the shell.

"This thing is like quicksand. I'm almost half buried in it!" I said, quite literally half buried in it. Elena laughed, before pretending to hold something in her hands.

"Quickly! Grab it! It's an Ekans!"

"An Ekans? Ekans aren't that big!"

"Well this one is, now grab on!"

"Get something else!"

"Like what?"

"A rope!"

"I'm not gonna find a rope here! Just grab the Ekans!"

"Maybe I can touch the bottom!"

"There is no bottom, now grab onto the Ekans!"

"Stop calling it that!"

"It's an Ekans! What do you want me to call it?"

"Say 'grab the rope!'"

"Grab the rope!"

We both burst out laughing, having completed our reenactment.

"I'm so- haha, glad to have a friend who actually gets my references!" Elena laughed, pretending to wipe away a tear. I wouldn't be surprised if it were actually real. We both high fived, both of us still giggling, and I sat up, trying to contain myself.

"Hahaha, what- heh, what time is it?" I asked in between laughs. She pulled out her phone and examined it. "Seven-forty. Diego should be arriving pretty soon."

"Aw man," I whined. "I was having a lot of fun!" I forcefully laid back down onto the giant Lapras. Elena's already apparent giggling grew louder.

"I'm having fun with you too! Unfortunately, everything closes at one point, but luckily this convention lasts a whole week!" She threw her arms up, and also threw herself back and laid down on the Lapras next to me. We both stared up at the ceiling.

"Should we go find Jay?" I turned my head to the right to face her, and she turned hers to the left to face me. "Hm… Maybe in a minute. Let's just lay here for a bit more. I'm comfortable..." She responded staring at me. I grinned and chuckled. "Alright then. I'm sure Jay is doing fine anyways, right?"

…

Jay had originally only helped Nikki because she was being loud and annoying, and wanted her to stop. Now, it was because he found himself taking a great liking to her.

"K-Katie! Come back here!" Nikki ordered. The Espeon who was standing twenty feet away obediently prodded over to where Nikki was standing, and affectionately rubbed against her leg. She placed her hands on her cheeks and squealed. "Aaahhh! It actually worked!" She turned to Jay. "She li-listened to me!" Her arms wrapped around him in a tight hug, but this time Jay didn't pull away.

"Of course it worked! I just seem to have a natural talent with Pokémon." He said cockily. Nikki was still hugging him, and was buried in his chest. "Thank you! Th-thank you!" She finally let go, and sighed. "You don't know how long I've been tr-trying to get Katie to listen to me! Ever since she evolved into an Espeon, she's a-always been r-rebellious!"

Jay cocked his head. "Was there a reason why? A reason why she started rebelling?"

Nikki looked down at her feet. Katie was still rubbing at them. "When… W-when she was an Eevee, she wanted to evolve into a beautiful Vaporeon… I found the Fire Stone about two months into my j-journey, and evolved Sadie into Flareon. Bu-but, before I could find a Water Stone… I was j-just doing some training and I didn't k-know…" She looked like she was going to cry again. Before she could however, Jay placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Hey, hey!" Nikki looked up at him when he said that. "It's not your fault your Eevee didn't evolve into what it wanted to be. It's not like you knew, or did it on purpose. You can't hold yourself responsible for things like these!" He stared into her eyes, which were a light brown color. Jay smiled, and she blushed once more. "O-ok-okay…" Nikki stammered. She quickly looked down at the ground before she exploded from Jay's seductive stare. He chuckled and brought her head back up using his index finger.

"There's no need to be shy, I don't bite." He placed his right arm on her back, and brought her closer. Nikki gasped, but not in a negative way. At this point, she couldn't control herself anymore and quickly pulled in Jay for a kiss. It only lasted a second as she quickly pulled away.

"I'm s-so sor-sorry! I d-didn't know w-what came o-over me! I probably ju-just made you h-hate-" She was quickly silenced by Jay going in for another kiss, this one lasting much longer. When they finally parted, you could almost see literal stars in Nikki's eyes.

"You wanna go somewhere a little more private? Preferably not in the middle of the stadium?" Jay asked. All Nikki could do was nod.

…

Elena and I, using the help of Mortar and Dirt Wing, managed to easily carry the giant Lapras plush on top of the car, and strap it down using some rope.

"I do hope that it won't fall off on the drive back," Diego said while examining our handiwork. "Where's Master Jay? He's usually the first one to leave such events, as he tires easily…" I smacked my forehead when Diego said that.

"Crap! We forgot about him!" I turned to Elena. "Wanna come with me?" She simply nodded. "Let's go then! Mortar, return!" She pulled out the Pokéball, and the Rhydon went in after the obligatory flash of red. I turned my head up to the Lapras head where Dirt Wing was sitting.

"Come help me look for Jay, okay?"

" _Gli-glah!"_ The three of us ran back inside, trying to find Jay.

"I'll check by the food court," Elena stated. "You go check near the battlefield." I nodded, and ran off. "Dirt, you'll be my eyes in the sky, right?" I asked it as he flew next to me. _"Gliga?"_

"Figure of speech. There are no literal eyes in the sky." I suddenly got an idea. "Hey! Also be on the look out for a girl with long, kind of red hair!"

" _Gliha!"_ Dirt flew higher and scouted around. I was left to search on my own. The stadium wasn't as jam packed as it was earlier in the day, as most people left after the first round of the tournament concluded. There was still enough people to make the task of searching for Jay difficult however. That's when the two-tailed purple feline dashed in front of me.

" _Espeerrr!"_ It purred. I jumped back, still startled at the fact it might be Moonshine. _"Mrrow!"_

I sighed. "What are you doing here?" I asked it. It stared at me, and started running away. I blinked. "Hey! Come back here!" I started running after it. It ran past people, turned corners, and led me through doorways, until I was led into a seemingly empty corridor near the end of the stadium. The Espeon stared up at me.

"Why did you take me here?" I questioned it.

" _Esperrr! Eon!"_

I sighed. "I can't understand you. Why can't you just talk to me using your psychic powers? I know for a fact you're powerful enough to do so!"

The Espeon just purred, and walked over to a door. On the door there was a label which read: 'Storage Room H'.

"You want me to go in here?"

" _Peon!"_

I shook my head, probably knowing it was a bad idea, but I opened the door anyway. As soon as I turned the knob and pushed the door slightly open, I heard a yelp, and the sound of panicking. When I peered into the room, I saw the sight of Nikki, face flushed red, and Jay looking startled, and wiping his lips. His well groomed hair was also slightly messy.

"Marcel!" Jay shouted. "What… What are you doing here?"

I stared at him for a few seconds, before grinning to myself. I looked at Nikki. "I followed your Espeon who led me here."

Nikki shot a worried look at her Espeon. "Katie! W-why did you lea-lead him here!?"

" _Mrreon!"_

"I didn't mean to barge in on your little make out session here, but it's almost time to leave, and I came for Jay." I said, slight teasing in my voice. He groaned loudly. "Just… Just gimme a minute alright?" He quickly pushed me out of the room, and I heard the door slam behind me, as well as the _ker-chunk_ of the lock. I laughed to myself while trying to eavesdrop on the conversation they were having. The only thing that cold be heard was the slight giggles of Nikki. I leaned my back on the wall next to the door, and awaited Jay to come out. Soon, I heard the door unlock and open, and as Nikki walked out, Jay glared at me. I gave him a quick smile.

"You always make out with girls you just meet?" I playfully shoved him.

"Shut up…" He sounded annoyed, and we didn't speak another word to each other on the way back to the exit.

"What took you so long?" Elena asked when we arrived at the car.

I was about pipe up and explain what happened. "Jay was-"

"I was busy helping Nikki train her Espeon to be more obedient to her." Jay quickly interrupted, and he looked at me like he was trying to rip out my soul using only his eyes.

"Oh, that's nice! Where's Nikki now?" Elena was oblivious to the situation, but I was probably gonna tell her later anyway.

"She left and went back to the Center which is where she's staying. She also said we would meet again tomorrow before your next battle Elena."

"So you two are friends now?" She questioned.

"I think they're a little more than friend- Ow!" Jay swiftly kicked me in the shin. When I looked at him, I could basically see the fiery background that appeared when he shot me a nasty look.

"I'm very confused…" Elena scratched her head.

"Don't worry about it," Jay said. "Let's just go- what the hell is _that_ thing?" He pointed to the Lapras roped onto the roof of the car.

"Life sized Lapras plush Marcel and I won. We hope it survives the journey back home."

" _Gar! Gligah!"_ I quickly looked up, only to see a very irate looking Gligar. He landed in front of me. _"Gli! Gar-gli gli!"_

"Heh…" I rubbed the back of my neck. "Sorry, I was chasing an Espeon through the stadium. I was gonna come back for you, I swear!" Dirt Wing looked at me, flatly, before letting out a sigh. At least, that's what it resembled. I pulled out his Pokéball, and he receded back into the ball with a _dyoo_ sound.

"Let's head back now Diego. I'm very tired after today…" Jay stretched out his arms and yawned.

"As you wish." Diego said in his calm voice. We all stepped into the car, and drove back to the mansion.

…

Surprisingly, the Lapras survived the trip with no damage whatsoever. Lance easily teleported it inside the house, and Elena ran in to be the first to claim an upstairs shower. I walked next to Jay on the pathway, and he hadn't said anything to me since I walked in on him. It was weird, not hearing him bragging every thirty seconds. I felt like I needed to say something to try and break the tension.

"To be honest, before you told me about Elena, I was convinced you were gay." It probably wasn't the best way to break tension, but I was successful nonetheless, and I heard a slight laugh come out of him.

"Don't worry _ma puce_ , you still have a shot with me. I've probably seen as many males as I have females," He winked at me. Now having this information in my head made me slightly uncomfortable being so close to him, and I scooted away a few steps. He seemed to notice and chuckled. I quickly changed the subject from me to Nikki. "Why the sudden face smooching though? You literally met her a few hours ago, and you seemed annoyed at her presence!"

Jay seemed to think for a moment, as if he were also trying to find out that answer. "Something about her… It just caught my attention…" He looked like he contemplated something, but then quickly shrugged. "Although it's probably nothing that'll last. I have many quick relationships, and I know for a fact this will be one of them."

I didn't really know what to say afterwards, and we had reached the door before I could think of anything. Jay held the door open for me, and put more emphasis on his Kalosian accent. _"Ma puce."_ His voice was suddenly calm and elegant.

"Why do you keep calling me that? What does it mean?" I've had someone give me a nickname in another language before, then later found out it meant _garbage_. A small laugh came before he spoke. "Kalosian for the word _flea."_ I stared at him flatly. "It also means something along the lines of _honey,_ or _sweetie."_ Whatever I was about to say got garbled and turned into gibberish, as I suddenly got flustered at that comment. Jay laughed some more, and walked upstairs to claim the other shower. I sat down on the couch, and simply stared at a wall to pass the time. I was bored out of my mind, and was very tired. Then The sound of light footsteps reached my ears, and I turned around to see who it was.

 _"Trainer."_ The deep echoey voice filled my mind. I looked up at the Gallade who addressed me. "Oh, hi Lance…" He seemed to stare at me for a few moments before turning to walk off. That's when I started to remember Moonshine, and the Espeon Nikki owned. Why was Moonshine able to talk to me using psychic ability, but Katie couldn't? It bothered me and I had to know why. Who better to ask than an actual psychic?

"Hey, Lance," I called. He half-turned his head so I only saw one of his deep red eyes. "What's a psychic lock?"

…


	13. Lucky Charm

" _A psychic lock?"_ Lance fully turned his body to face me. _"Why do you ask of such things?"_

I gulped, slightly regretting my decision to ask. "I'm… I'm just wondering more about it, as I heard the term from another trainer the other day. It just caught my attention, that's all…" Lying to a psychic probably isn't the best idea in the world. A suspicious look came over Lance. _"I hope you know I could easily read your mind if I wanted to."_ He seemed to examine me up and down. _"However, I won't, as I don't like delving into the minds of others."_

A wave of relief came over me. "Can you just answer my question?" I asked, wanting this conversation to be over quick.

" _A psychic lock is when a powerful psychic Pokémon segments part of its power to place inside the mind of another individual. Anything the individual feels, any thing they do, or wherever they go, the psychic can also feel. I have a psychic lock on Master Jay myself."_

Great. He told me what I already knew, except for the lock on Jay. "How powerful would the psychic Pokémon need to be? Are we talking very powerful, or like, a good portion of psychics?"

" _Powerful. Among the likes of myself, Gardevoir, Alakazam, Bronzong, Slowking… Among that kind of power."_

I pretended to know what a Bronzong and Slowking were. "What about... Say, an Espeon?" I hoped that question didn't raise too much suspicion. Luckily, it didn't.

" _An Espeon is nowhere near as powerful as most psychics. I don't believe they even have enough power to communicate using telepathy."_ He seemed to talk down about Espeon. "Thanks Lance, that's really all I needed to know."

" _Very well then."_ He elegantly turned around and walked away. I watched him walk off, and when he came out of view, I felt relieved. That conversation could have gone much worse had I said something wrong. But now it left me with a lingering question in my mind. Why was Moonshine powerful enough to put a psychic lock on me? As evidenced by Nikki's Espeon, they shouldn't have enough power to communicate using their powers. It made my brain hurt just thinking about it.

…

That night, I basically forced myself to go to sleep. I wanted to get some sort of answers to my questions.

Tonight, rather than appearing in the purple cloud world, I found myself in nothing. It was only darkness, and I was just floating in it. There was nothing I could do, but try to get Moonshine's attention.

"Moonshine!" My voice echoed throughout the dark void. "I need to talk to you! Moonshine!" I kept calling out, hoping it would get him to notice me. It seemed like an hour had passed, but I couldn't tell. The concept of time seemed to be nonexistent. Finally, just when I had nearly given up, purple clouds rolled in around me, and filled in the dark space. A purple and blue platform appeared, and I was gravitated towards it. On the platform was a small red orb. My feet readjusted to the fact they were now standing on solid ground. I approached the red orb, but it started glowing before I could take another step. After a brief flash of red, there was now an Espeon where the orb was.

" _You know, I can't just come here whenever I please. I have duties in the real world to attend to with my trainer."_ The calm echoey voice said.

"You're not normal, are you?" What I said was more of a statement than a question.

" _No, I suppose I'm not. I'm better than most Pokémon. I can thank my trainer for this ability."_

"You're trainer… Nathan, right?"

" _That is the name he was given."_

"So what's his deal? Did he put you up to this? The reason I'm here almost every night?"

" _No, I'm afraid I'm actually doing this against his will. There are multiple trainers like you whom I've placed a psychic lock on, although most have proven to not be what I'm looking for. You don't seem to be amounting to much either, so perhaps I'll be gone soon, and that will be the end of it for you."_

I glared down at the little feline. I used to be easily intimidated by it, but now I felt like I could at least stand up to it. "What's that supposed to mean? Do I not meet your expectations or something?" I spat.

The Espeon examined me. _"Easily agitated. Not one of the more desirable qualities…"_

Moonshine was right, and I was mad. "Okay, you are going to tell me what the hell is going on right now! What are you trying to do with me!?"

" _You might not want to get so angry."_

"Stop avoiding the question!"

" _It's not that I'm avoiding the question, it's that I simply cannot tell you."_

I was already frustrated enough, and the fact he kept dancing around any answers was pissing me off. "God dammit!" It probably wasn't my smartest move, next to sticking my finger out at a Gligar, but I charged straight for the Espeon.

" _I told you not to get too angry."_ Were the last words I heard before I landed face flat on the hardwood floor next to my bed. The next sound I heard however was the sound of something sharp slicing through the air. I looked up, and was met with the sharp edge of a Gallade's blade nearly pressed against my neck.

" _Get up. We need to have a talk."_ Lance's voice was fierce. Too nervous to do anything else, I shakily complied. He grabbed the back of my shirt collar and walked me to the living room, where he basically threw me onto the couch.

" _I detected a strong psychic energy come from you as you slept. I was skeptical of you at first, but now I'm very suspicious. What the hell was going on?"_ Lance interrogated. I was to nervous to say anything, but he continued to pressure me. _"Speak!"_ He swiped his blade arms in the air to scare me, and it definitely worked.

"O-okay! Okay! I'll tell you!" I stammered. "There's- Theres this Espeon who put a psychic lock on me, and drags me into this dream world every night! I don't know what it wants from me, but I just want it to stop!" I was honestly scared out of my mind, as Gallade were scary as hell. He seemed to be satisfied with my answer. _"Interesting. Follow me."_ He led me into a room just past the kitchen. It resembled that of a walk in pantry. Inside the pantry was a surplus of items on multiple shelves. Jars of what seemed to be Pokémon enhancing nutrients, containers of incense, and boxes of items labeled things such as 'Thunder Stones', 'Reaper Cloths', and 'Macho Braces'.

" _Master Jay keeps many Pokémon supplies here."_ Lance looked around the room, and pulled out a box from a top shelf labeled 'Shields'. I was a bit confused by the labeling. Lance set the box down on a counter in the kitchen, and hesitated to open the flaps. _"Before I open this, I'll just let you know, I can't talk to you once you wear the item I'm about to give you, so walk a few paces away to test it, then remove it from your body."_ I simply nodded, and he opened the box. Inside there seemed to be a multitude of items, and lots of twine. Lance pulled at one of the twine pieces, and winced when the item was removed completely. It was now clear the piece of twine was the string to a necklace, and attached to the twine were dark blue, red, and white feathers. I grabbed the item from his outstretched hand, and put it around my neck. I walked a few feet backwards and stared at Gallade. After a few moments of silence, he nodded, and pointed to a table a few more feet behind me. I set it down there, and I heard Lance's voice once more.

" _Good, the dark energy hasn't faded at all."_

I blinked. "Dark energy?"

" _Yes,"_ Lance nodded. _"The feathers on that necklace are that of a Honchkrow. The dark energy that flows in those feathers still linger, even after they have fallen off the Pokémon."_

What he said actually made a lot of sense of me. "Oh! I get what your saying! Because I'll have the dark necklace, a psychic like that Espeon won't be able to touch me!"

" _Exactly."_

"That's really cool actually. That's what the term 'shield' refers to I assume?"

" _You learn fast. Keep that necklace on if you want to avoid anymore psychic influence."_ I looked at the necklace on the table, and aside from the shitty little twine holding it together, I thought it looked pretty cool. Three dark blue feathers on each side, two red feathers on each side of the inner edge of the dark blue ones, and a single white feather in the center. I hoped they were washed though. _"You can head back to sleep with the necklace at your bedside. I'm sure the effects will still be the same."_ Lance sounded sincere, so I smiled and nodded. "Thanks Lance… Again…"

The night remained peaceful as I went back to sleep. No Espeon, no psychic lock, and no purple cloud world. Just nice, peaceful dreams.

Normal days from now on… Hopefully…


	14. Remaster Notice

Holy heck this thing is getting updated? Well, this in particular, it's not. Sorry to get your hopes up.

 ** _However,_** and this is a big however. I am kind of... Rebooting this story. And no, not some crappy Michael Bay reboot with Megan Fox and explosions.

Originally this story started out as some kind of thing I wrote for fun after playing through Pokemon Platinum, and I was just starting off writing, and decided to post it because why not. After writing a few chapters (and having to reset my computer) I lost the fire I had to write it. But now I am back! And have decided to reboot the story, better (hopefully) this time! And actually planned out beforehand. I'll be keeping this story up for a little while longer while I continue to write the reboot, and hopefully anyone who reads this notice will stick around to read that!


End file.
